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Burger King's US strength helps Restaurant Brands top quarterly same-store sales estimates. By Reuters Reuters Updated August 6, 2026 9:44 AM Gift Article Aug 6 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands International beat overall same-store sales growth expectations for the second quarter, helped by resilient demand at its Burger King chain in the U.S. Fast-food chains have increasingly leaned on value menus, bundled meal deals and price-focused promotions to attract customers squeezed by persistent inflation and higher living costs amid geopolitical uncertainty. Burger King's U.S. business benefited from value offers, including its "2 for $5" and "3 for $7" meal deals, which helped draw diners who had pulled back on discretionary spending. Restaurant Brands has also been investing heavily in Burger King over the last few years to revive sales through restaurant remodels and marketing initiatives. Comparable sales at Burger King U.S. grew 8.5% for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a 1.5% rise last year. Analysts, on average, expected the segment to report comparable sales growth of about 3.5%. The Toronto-based company has also emphasized value across its other brands. Tim Hortons, which makes up about 41% of the company's operating income, has been offering breakfast sandwich or wrap-and-coffee deals for C$3, while loaded wrap meals are priced at C$8.99. Tim Hortons, which has around 3,900 restaurants in Canada as of February 2026, reported a 0.1% rise in its comparable sales in the country for the quarter, down from 3.6% reported the prior year. Analysts expected a 1.5% increase. U.S.-listed shares of the company were down about 3% in early trading. Restaurant Brands also faces cost pressures due to increases in commodity prices, including beef, which accounts for roughly a quarter of the company's food basket. Restaurant operators have so far reported mixed results, with McDonald's earlier this week missing quarterly U.S. sales growth expectations, citing execution challenges that weakened the impact of its value offerings. On the other hand, Yum Brands beat profit and comparable sales growth estimates last week, despite dealing with a cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to its Taco Bell unit. Restaurant Brands reported global comparable sales growth of 3.8% in the quarter ended June 30, above analysts' expectations of about 3.0%, according to data compiled by LSEG. The company reported quarterly revenue of $2.52 billion, compared with estimates of $2.53 billion. Adjusted diluted earnings rose to $1.07 per share from 94 cents a year ago. (Reporting by Sanskriti Shekhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo) This story was originally published August 6, 2026 at 6:36 AM.

RBI profit jumps despite Tim Hortons' slow sales growth. By Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press Posted Aug 6, 2026 6:01 am. TORONTO - Tim Hortons' latest quarter lacked some of the brand's usual pep. The café chain's owner Restaurants Brands International Inc. revealed Thursday that Tim Hortons' sales remained flat in its second quarter, when its marketing failed to land how executives hoped. "Our calendar didn't drive the growth we've come to expect from Tims and was unable to lap last year's major platform launches," RBI chief executive Josh Kobza said on a call with analysts. Tims spent much of the quarter pushing sandwiches akin to grilled cheeses that the company recently brought back in response to consumer demand. Its other big launches included new flavours of quenchers - its cold beverages that come in fruity flavours and sometimes with added protein - and a line of four new Timbit flavours advertised with soccer theming and timed to the FIFA World Cup. Kobza didn't outline which products or campaigns failed to impress but indicated he doesn't think Tims is on the verge of a slump. "We were encouraged by stronger business performance as the quarter progressed and are excited about the backhalf calendar," he said. In the coming months, it will launch a Harry Potter partnership with doughnuts for each Hogwarts house and a quencher inspired by the franchise's Forbidden Forest and served in a temperature-activated, colour-changing cup that reveals a Patronus. New flavours of its core breakfast offerings and a holiday partnership are also on their way, though the company offered no specifics around what either could entail. Kobza is hoping the launches fuel the kind of growth Tims is used to. The brand makes up roughly 41 per cent of the operating profit recorded by RBI, which also owns Burger King, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Firehouse Subs. But in the second quarter, Tims notched US$2 billion in system-wide sales, about the same as a year earlier. Comparable sales grew 0.1 per cent, down from 3.4 per cent a year prior and paling in comparison to the 8.6 per cent leap Burger King experienced over the same period. System-wide sales capture the revenue companies make across all of a brand's restaurants. In RBI's second-quarter, its profit attributable to common shareholders reached US$507 million, compared with US$189 million during the same quarter a year ago. The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, said the profit amounted to US$1.45 per diluted share, up from 57 cents US per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 totalled US$2.5 billion, up from US$2.4 billion. On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands earned US$1.07 per diluted share in the quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 94 cents US per diluted share in the second quarter of 2025. Keep it Factual Add CityNews Calgary as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has concentrated its portfolio into five stocks, according to the latest 13F filing. Four of the five holdings now trade below their year-start levels. Restaurant Brands International leads the portfolio. The Burger King parent posted US comparable sales of 5.8% in Q1 2026, reversing last year's -1.1%. Net income jumped 180% year-over-year, whilst free cash flow rose 213%. Analysts set an $85.50 price target with 64% bullish consensus. Brookfield Corporation represents Ackman's infrastructure play. The firm's fee-bearing capital grew 12% to $614 billion. Brookfield deployed $53 billion in Q1 and maintains nearly $200 billion in total deployable capital. The company partners with Nvidia on AI factory development and holds an $80 billion nuclear partnership with the US government. The concentrated strategy has outperformed despite recent pullbacks.