Restaurant Brands reports mixed results as Burger King's U.S. turnaround shows signs of success

Restaurant Brands International reported mixed third-quarter results on Thursday, according to CNBC. Popeyes' weak performance offset gains at Burger King. Shares of the company fell about 2% in morning trading.

The company reported third-quarter net income attributable to common shareholders of $542 million, or $1.54 per share, up from $315 million, or 96 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding certain noncash items, it earned $1.10 per share. The source does not state how these results compared with analyst expectations beyond noting that results were mixed.

Across all restaurants, same-store sales rose 3.8%. Restaurant Brands has reported same-store sales growth above 3% for the past five quarters.

Burger King led the portfolio, with U.S. same-store sales up 8.4%. Chair Patrick Doyle said on the earnings call: "The plans we've put in place over the last several years are working, and we're going to keep executing against them." Doyle also said Burger King has delivered "over four years of industry outperformance."

CEO Josh Kobza told CNBC that sales of Burger King nuggets have risen more than 35% since the chain relaunched them on Sept. 1 with 100% white meat chicken. Kobza said more core menu items will be upgraded next year.

Popeyes' U.S. same-store sales fell 2.2%. Kobza said on the earnings call that the company now expects Popeyes to return to same-store sales growth later than previously forecast, which had been the second half of 2026. He said traffic is improving, but the $6 Big Box promotion, relaunched in September, boosted sales less than expected.

Tim Hortons reported same-store sales growth of 1.8% in Canada. The international business posted same-store sales growth of 3.9%, which the source attributes to Burger King locations.

Kobza told CNBC that the operating environment has been "relatively stable over the last couple of quarters and even into recent months," and that the company has not seen significant changes in consumer behavior, even as the broader industry saw traffic soften in the third quarter amid high gas prices.