QSR

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Cava Group (CAVA). Shares have lost about 18.7% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500. But investors have to be wondering, will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Cava due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts. CAVA delivered earnings of $0.19 per share in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, up 18.8% from $0.16 a year ago and surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.18 by 5.6%. Total revenues rose 31.3% year over year to $368.44 million and beat the consensus mark of $353 million by 4.4%.Results reflected continued restaurant expansion and healthy guest demand. CAVA opened 17 net new restaurants, while same-restaurant sales increased 9%, including Guest Traffic growth of 5.3%. The CAVA unit’s revenues increased 31.3% year over year to $365.43 million in the fiscal second quarter. The increase primarily reflected contributions from 94 net new CAVA restaurant openings during or subsequent to the second quarter of fiscal 2025, along with higher sales at restaurants in the comparable base.Menu price and product mix contributed 3.7 percentage points to same restaurant sales. Average unit volume rose to $3.09 million from $2.94 million a year earlier. The company ended the quarter with 476 CAVA restaurants, up 19.6% year over year, while new restaurant productivity remained above 100%. CAVA’s restaurant-level profit increased 28.1% year over year to $93.81 million. However, restaurant-level profit margin contracted 60 basis points to 25.7%, reflecting a less favorable cost mix despite strong restaurant sales.Food, beverage and packaging costs rose 50 basis points to 30.0% of revenues, largely because of input costs tied to the Pomegranate Glazed Salmon launch. Labor and related costs increased 30 basis points to 25.3%, reflecting an incremental 3% wage investment. Occupancy improved 50 basis points to 6.3%, while other operating expenses increased 40 basis points to 12.8% on a higher mix of third-party delivery. CAVA paired growth with stronger cash generation through the second quarter of fiscal 2026. Net cash provided by operating activities increased 36.0% year over year to $134.5 million from $98.9 million, primarily reflecting improved operating performance and favorable working capital changes. Purchases of property and equipment totaled $89.7 million, resulting in year-to-date free cash flow of $44.8 million, up from $21.9 million a year ago.Liquidity remained solid at the end of the fiscal second quarter. CAVA held $322.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and $112.8 million in fixed-income investments, representing approximately $435.6 million of combined cash and investments. The company had no borrowings under its $150 million revolving credit facility and had $149.1 million of available borrowing capacity, net of $0.9 million in outstanding letters of credit. CAVA reiterated its fiscal 2026 outlook for 75-77 net new restaurant openings and same restaurant sales growth of 4.5%-6.5%. The company continues to expect a restaurant-level profit margin of 23.7%-24.3%, pre-opening costs of $22.0-$22.5 million and adjusted EBITDA of $181-$191 million.Management said industry concerns around the Cyclospora outbreak pressured same restaurant sales around quarter-end, but trends improved sequentially and most recently recovered to the mid-single digits. The outlook also incorporates expected fuel surcharges, the partial rollout of pre-marinated chicken and continued wage investments, while management indicated fiscal fourth-quarter restaurant-level margins historically decline by close to 300 basis points from the fiscal third quarter because of seasonality. Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates. The consensus estimate has shifted -12.84% due to these changes. At this time, Cava has a strong Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a score of F on the value side, putting it in the fifth quintile for this investment strategy. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Cava has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months. Cava belongs to the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry. Another stock from the same industry, Restaurant Brands (QSR), has gained 2.8% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended June 2026. Restaurant Brands reported revenues of $2.52 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +4.6%. EPS of $1.07 for the same period compares with $0.94 a year ago. Restaurant Brands is expected to post earnings of $1.09 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +5.8%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -0.5%. The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Restaurant Brands. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of C. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

McDonald's Corporation MCD delivered a mixed second-quarter 2026 report. Adjusted earnings beat expectations, but revenues fell short as U.S. traffic remained soft even while international comparable sales stayed positive.The investor question now centers on whether franchised margin growth, global expansion and improving international trends can offset weaker U.S. guest counts and pressure on company-operated profitability. Adjusted earnings were $3.38 per share, up 6% year over year and 1.8% above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.32. Revenues rose 4% to $7.10 billion but missed the consensus mark of $7.14 billion by 0.5%. McDonald's Corporation price-consensus-chart | McDonald's Corporation Quote Franchised restaurant margins increased 4.3% to $3.71 billion and represented roughly 90% of total restaurant margin dollars. Company-operated restaurant margins rose 1.8% overall, but U.S. margins fell 6% to $91 million, reflecting continued inflationary cost pressure. U.S. comparable sales increased 0.8%, supported by positive average check growth and favorable product mix, but lower guest counts limited the result. Management estimated that value execution issues accounted for about two-thirds of the customer traffic shortfall versus expectations.The weakness carried into the third quarter, with U.S. comparable sales slightly negative in July. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG reported second-quarter comparable restaurant sales growth of 2.2%, including a 1.0% increase in transactions. Restaurant Brands International Inc. QSR posted 8.5% comparable sales growth at Burger King U.S., adding competitive context to McDonald’s traffic challenge. International Operated Markets comparable sales rose 1.5%, led by Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom. International Developmental Licensed Markets increased 1.9%, with Japan leading growth while China remained a drag.Management expects comparable sales growth in both international segments to accelerate sequentially in the third quarter and on a two-year stacked basis. That outlook gives MCD a potential offset while U.S. traffic initiatives take time to gain traction. McDonald’s still expects to open about 2,600 restaurants in 2026, producing roughly 2,100 net additions. Net restaurant expansion is projected to contribute about 2.5% to systemwide sales growth in constant currencies, even as the 50,000-restaurant target moves to 2028.The company continues to expect a full-year operating margin in the mid-to-high 40% range. Capital expenditures are projected at $3.7-$3.9 billion, while interest expense is expected to increase 4-6%. The outlook therefore pairs continued restaurant investment with higher financing expense. The quarter leaves investors with a clear trade-off. Franchised economics and international growth remain supportive, but U.S. traffic, company-operated margins and execution are still key variables to watch.MCD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), a neutral short-term signal. The VGM Score of D and Value Score of D are less supportive, while the Growth Score of C is middling. The Momentum Score of B is the strongest Style Score signal, but the overall mix does not point to a uniformly favorable setup. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report McDonald's Corporation (MCD) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Restaurant Brands has followed the market’s trajectory closely, rising in tandem with the S&P 500 over the past six months. The stock has climbed by 14% to $77.66 per share while the index has gained 13.9%. Is now a good time to buy QSR? Find out in our full research report, it’s free. Formed through a strategic merger, Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) is a multinational corporation that owns three iconic fast-food chains: Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes. A restaurant chain’s total number of dining locations often determines how much revenue it can generate. Restaurant Brands sported 33,156 locations in the latest quarter. Over the last two years, it has opened new restaurants quickly, averaging 3.1% annual growth. This was faster than the broader restaurant sector. Additionally, one dynamic making expansion more seamless is the company’s franchise model, where franchisees are primarily responsible for opening new restaurants while Restaurant Brands provides support. When a chain opens new restaurants, it usually means it’s investing for growth because there’s healthy demand for its meals and there are markets where its concepts have few or no locations. If you’ve followed StockStory for a while, you know we emphasize free cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end, cash is king, and you can’t use accounting profits to pay the bills. Restaurant Brands has shown terrific cash profitability, driven by its lucrative business model that enables it to reinvest, return capital to investors, and stay ahead of the competition. The company’s free cash flow margin was among the best in the restaurant sector, averaging 15.9% over the last two years. Forecasted revenues by Wall Street analysts signal a company’s potential. Predictions may not always be accurate, but accelerating growth typically boosts valuation multiples and stock prices while slowing growth does the opposite. Over the next 12 months, sell-side analysts expect Restaurant Brands’s revenue to rise by 2.4%. This projection doesn’t excite us and indicates its menu offerings will see some demand headwinds. At least the company is tracking well in other measures of financial health. Restaurant Brands has huge potential even though it has some open questions. At $77.66 per share (or 18.1× forward P/E), is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free. ALSO WORTH WATCHING: Top 5 Momentum Stocks. The best time to own a great stock is when the market is finally noticing it. These aren’t just high-quality businesses. Something is happening with them right now. Elite fundamentals meet near-term momentum — both boxes checked at the same time. Find out which stocks our AI platform is flagging this week. See this week’s Strong Momentum stocks — FREE. Get Our Strong Momentum Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+214% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

During the August 11 episode of CNBC’s Mad Money, host Jim Cramer discussed McDonald's Corporation’s (NYSE:MCD) recent earnings report and said: McDonald's Corporation’s (NYSE:MCD) second-quarter earnings report highlighted specific execution missteps that eroded domestic foot traffic. Systemwide sales reached $37 billion globally, supported by active user expansion across digital loyalty programs. However, management mentioned during the earnings call that domestic weakness stemmed from an overly crowded promotional calendar spanning major global sports partnerships as well as new product rollouts, which clogged restaurant operations and slowed kitchen service times. Furthermore, an inconsistent franchisee pricing rollout of the Every Day Affordable Price menu under $3 coincided with a reduction in digital flash deals. To address these operational bottlenecks, Skye Anderson was appointed as President of McDonald's USA. Management emphasized on a structural shift in marketing, steering the operational focus toward improving food quality, scaling proprietary beverage platform initiatives, and optimizing digital reward frameworks. Macroeconomic pressures continue to weigh on the broader quick-service industry, with persistent wage inflation and reduced dining frequency among low-income households compressing store-level margins. As per Investing.com, on August 5, Bernstein SocGen Group revised its price target on McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) down to $295 from $310 while maintaining a Market Perform rating. The firm pointed to prolonged domestic traffic softness and delayed value recovery. With it being valued at 21 times earnings and offering a 2.7% dividend yield, valuation multiples sit below historical averages, yet sluggish domestic momentum leaves the thesis dependent on operational execution. Insider Monkey 13F tracking data shows institutional hedge fund ownership moving to 83 funds in the first quarter of 2026, down from 91 funds in the fourth quarter of 2025. The prominent shareholder in Q1 was Arrowstreet Capital after increasing its stake by 18%. On the short side, McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) has a short float of approximately 1.66%. That minimal short positioning shows Wall Street is not aggressively betting against the company. Investors are instead looking at it as a steady defensive anchor while management works through its operational reset. Whether the stock goes back to its historical premium depends on how quickly new leadership can streamline store operations and restore store-level foot traffic. While we acknowledge the potential of MCD as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: Jim Cramer Flags Thomson Reuters (TRI) as a Value Trap and Jim Cramer Picks CoreWeave (CRWV) as the Better Buy Over IREN. Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.

On the August 11 episode of Mad Money, host Jim Cramer discussed the financial mechanics behind Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR), and focused on the divergence between Burger King's resurgence and the broader headwinds facing its parent company. He said: The operational friction inside Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) is due to uneven performance across its multi-brand umbrella. While Burger King delivered an 8.5% comparable sales increase in the United States, helped by executive strategies outlined by brand president Tom Curtis during his May appearance regarding listening closely to consumers, modernizing restaurant spaces, and prioritizing intentional value propositions, sister banners faced deceleration. Tim Hortons posted virtually flat comparable sales growth at 0.1%, with incremental top-line additions heavily tied to supply chain transactions passing higher commodity costs to franchisees rather than organic foot traffic gains. Meanwhile, Popeyes experienced a fifth consecutive period of domestic contraction with comparable sales slipping 5.2%. Management has leaned on capital return programs, declaring a third-quarter dividend of $0.65 per share. According to management during the Q2 2026 earnings call, the company returned a total of $435 million to shareholders during the quarter through dividends and share repurchases. Market skeptics analyzing Restaurant Brands point toward broader quick-service industry traffic declines, with consumer discretionary spending impacted by persistent inflation and rising menu costs across the fast-food sector. As per MarketBeat, on August 7, Scotia lowered the price target on Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) from $83.00 to $81.00 while maintaining a Sector Perform rating. The firm noted that valuation multiples trade near 26 times earnings with a dividend yield around 3.6%, yet sluggish momentum in secondary brands leaves the overall recovery dependent on operational execution. Examining hedge fund allocations provides additional depth into how smart-money investors view Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR). According to Insider Monkey hedge fund tracking elite hedge funds, the number of hedge funds stood at 31 during the first quarter of 2026, compared to 36 funds in the fourth quarter of 2025. Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has been the top shareholder for the past few quarters, with 22.6 million shares in Q1. Meanwhile, short interest hovers near 5.19% of the total float. Investors seem to continue to treat it as a steady dividend compounder supported by a mature global footprint, even as short-term traders navigate the uneven growth rates separating Burger King's turnaround from its sibling restaurant chains. While we acknowledge the potential of QSR as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: Jim Cramer Asks Why Constellation Brands (STZ) Stock Remains Cut in Half Despite Strong Earnings and Jim Cramer Discusses Retailers He Likes: Williams-Sonoma (WSM) and Ralph Lauren (RL). Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.

Restaurant Brands’ second quarter results reflected steady execution across its multi-brand portfolio, with particular strength from Burger King and international markets. Management pointed to Burger King’s same-store sales outperformance and ongoing operational improvements as key drivers for the quarter. CEO Josh Kobza emphasized the company’s alignment with franchisees and highlighted strong performance in international markets such as Germany, Spain, and China. Kobza noted, “Our results highlight the strength of our diversified portfolio and disciplined operating model.” Tim Hortons’ performance was mixed, with soft early-quarter sales offset by late-quarter menu innovation. Is now the time to buy QSR? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $2.52 billion vs analyst estimates of $2.53 billion (4.6% year-on-year growth, in line) Adjusted EPS: $1.07 vs analyst estimates of $1.04 (3.2% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $810 million vs analyst estimates of $810 million (32.1% margin, in line) Operating Margin: 28.4%, up from 20% in the same quarter last year Locations: 33,156 at quarter end, up from 32,229 in the same quarter last year Same-Store Sales rose 3.8% year on year (2.4% in the same quarter last year) Market Capitalization: $26.12 billion While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Brian Bittner (Oppenheimer & Co.) asked about overlooked growth drivers for Burger King’s future. CEO Josh Kobza pointed to ongoing menu elevation, further restaurant remodels, and operational improvements as key opportunities still ahead. Dennis Geiger (UBS) questioned the improvement trajectory at Tim Hortons and the macro environment in Canada. Kobza attributed better late-quarter performance to successful new product launches and described the Canadian market as stable, emphasizing that most growth levers are under management’s control. Sara Senatore (Bank of America) asked about the pace of Popeyes’ turnaround and challenges faced. Kobza said value and menu focus are stabilizing sales, with field support and operational investments starting to show positive effects, but acknowledged some improvements will take more time. Brian Mullen (Piper Sandler) inquired about Burger King’s refranchising process and the impact on remodel momentum. CFO Sami Siddiqui reported strong buyer interest and expects refranchising to accelerate in the second half, with remodel rates likely picking up as beef cost pressures ease. Gregory Francfort (Guggenheim) asked about menu pricing and franchisee alignment. Kobza and Siddiqui emphasized disciplined pricing strategies and strong support from franchisees, noting menu price increases have remained in the low single digits. Looking ahead, the StockStory team will be closely monitoring (1) the impact of new menu items and marketing campaigns at Tim Hortons and Burger King on guest traffic and sales, (2) progress toward accelerating international unit growth, especially in key markets like China and France, and (3) signs of sustained operational improvements at Popeyes and franchisee profitability as beef input costs moderate. Execution on loyalty partnerships and international expansion will be important markers of ongoing strategy success. Restaurant Brands currently trades at $74.88, in line with $74.49 just before the earnings. At this price, is it a buy or sell? The answer lies in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members). ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI is taking down whole sectors with no warning. In a rotation this fast, you need more than a list of good companies. Our AI system flagged Palantir before it ran 1,662% between October 2022 and February 2026. AppLovin before it ran 753% between February 2024 and February 2026. Nvidia before it ran 1,178% between January 2023 and February 2026. Each week it produces 6 new names that pass the same tests. Get Our Top 6 Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+214% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET Chief Executive Officer - Joshua Kobza Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - Sami Siddiqui Executive Chairman - Patrick Doyle Vice President of Treasury and Investor Relations - Kendall Peck Operator: Good morning, and welcome to Restaurant Brands International's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Kendall Peck, RBI's Vice President of Treasury and Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Kendall Peck: Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Restaurant Brands International's Earnings Call for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Joining me on the call today are Restaurant Brands International's Executive Chairman, Patrick Doyle; CEO, Josh Kobza; and CFO, Sami Siddiqui. Following remarks from Josh, Samy and Patrick, we will open the call to questions. Today's discussion may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks detailed in the press release issued this morning and in our SEC filings. We will also reference non-GAAP financial measures, reconciliations of which can be found in the press release and trending schedules available on our website. As a reminder, organic adjusted operating income growth is on a constant currency basis and excludes results from the Restaurant Holdings segment. For calendar planning purposes, our preliminary Q3 earnings call is scheduled for the morning of October 29, 2026. And now I'll turn the call over to Josh. Joshua Kobza: Thank you, Kendall, and good morning, everyone. Q2 was another strong quarter. We delivered 3.8% same-store sales growth and 2.9% net restaurant growth, driving 6.4% system-wide sales growth, 6.7% organic adjusted operating income growth and 12.9% adjusted EPS growth. Last quarter, we said our results were early proof that the 2028 vision we laid out at our Investor Day was taking hold. Q2 built on that momentum. We accelerated same-store sales, exceeding our long-term 3% algorithm for the third consecutive quarter, delivered double-digit earnings growth and returned $435 million of capital to shareholders. We also advanced our other key priorities, strengthening our path to becoming an investment-grade company and making progress towards 5% net restaurant growth, all while being the partner of choice for the best franchisees and the employer of choice for the best talent. Just as importantly, our results highlight the strength of our diversified portfolio and disciplined operating model. By investing behind each of our brands while executing consistently against our long-term strategies, we've built a portfolio capable of delivering durable top line and earnings growth across a variety of consumer environments. Those strategies continue to drive results with Tim Hortons and International each delivering their 21st consecutive quarters of positive same-store sales growth. Burger King U.S. was a standout performer this quarter with our elevation strategy driving another major step forward in sales and expanding our outperformance versus the industry to the high single digits. I'm incredibly proud of what our teams and franchisees have accomplished so far this year. Through the first half of 2026, we've delivered above algorithm same-store sales of 3.5% and organic adjusted operating income growth of 8.5%, along with nearly 14% adjusted EPS growth. These results highlight the power of strong alignment with our franchisees and consistent execution every day in our restaurants. We're excited about the opportunities still ahead as we look to build on this momentum in the second half of the year. With that, let's turn to our segment results, starting with Tim Hortons, which represents roughly 41% of our operating profit. At Tim Hortons, Canadian same-store sales were relatively flat at plus 0.1%. While we maintained our leadership positions in coffee, breakfast and baked goods, 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. However, there were encouraging signs as the quarter progressed. In late May, we introduced melts, one of the most requested items that guests wanted to return to the menu, and we saw continued growth in cold beverages. As we look ahead, Axel and the team have an exciting marketing calendar, kicking off next week with our Harry Potter Back to Hogg Worth campaign, featuring magical baked goods and beverages designed to appeal to fans of all ages and celebrate 25 years since the release of the first film. We'll follow this with new flavors across our core breakfast offerings and an exciting holiday partnership later in the year. Our recent Mata launch also unlocks an entirely new beverage innovation opportunity, while the continued rollout of fountain equipment is enabling us to further expand our cold beverage offerings like Soda Swirls, which is Tim's version of a dirty soda, while also improving back-of-house efficiency. We're also excited about our upcoming loyalty partnership with Canadian Tire, which will allow guests to link their Triangle Rewards and Tims Rewards accounts, earning Canadian Tire money with every Tims transaction and extending the reach of our digital ecosystem through one of Canada's largest loyalty programs. Beyond marketing, we're on track to accelerate development in Canada with approximately 80 gross openings this year compared to over 50 last year, spanning every Canadian province, including Ontario, Alberta and Quebec. These will primarily be standard drive-thru restaurants, which deliver paybacks of under 3 years, one of the strongest in the industry. And just as importantly, our restaurants continue to make a meaningful impact on the communities that they serve. This year's Smile Cookie campaign raised a record $23 million for more than 600 charities and community organizations across Canada and the U.S. And in July, our annual campaign raised nearly $13 million to support Tims Foundation camps. Taking a step back, while our marketing did not perform as anticipated in Q2, we were encouraged by stronger business performance as the quarter progressed and are excited about the back half calendar. Tim Hortons remains one of the strongest and most loved restaurant brands in Canada. Canadians continue to rank us #1 in brand trust and affordable pricing, a testament to the unique role Tims plays in the everyday lives of our guests. We're focused on building on those strengths by delivering delicious food and beverages, reliable everyday value and a great experience to our guests. I'm confident these fundamentals position us well for the years ahead. Now on to our international business, which drives roughly 29% of our operating profit and remains one of the most important growth engines of the business. This quarter, International delivered comparable sales of 5.5% and net restaurant growth of 5.1%, resulting in system-wide sales of 10.7%. Growth was fueled by strong execution across many of our largest markets, including BK Germany, Spain, Brazil, China, Korea and Japan. Our teams continue to launch exciting innovation tailored to local preferences across both our core offerings as well as emerging platforms like chicken and beverages. At Burger King China, value chicken innovation and exciting Lopper collaboration with Michelin Chef, David Lye and the continued success of our whole muscle Double Patty Chicken burger drove another great quarter of results. Germany's strong performance was supported by the dessert innovation and a new iced beverage platform, while in Spain, guests enjoyed our new Wild Ranch burger. These innovations were complemented by a variety of family partnerships around the world. Our Mandalorian collaboration extended across over 70 markets, including Spain, Germany and the U.K., while our Toy Story 5 kids meal helped drive traffic in countries like Brazil and Argentina. Underpinning all of this is a strong base of everyday value, creating a balanced offering for guests across a wide range of occasions. Earlier in the quarter, Thiago and his team hosted their annual Burger King CEO Summit in France, bringing together leaders across the global Burger King system. Together, we aligned on priorities to drive long-term growth, strengthening restaurant operations, simplifying our technology platforms and improving unit economics. Those priorities continue to translate into results with average paybacks of around 4.5 years across our top 10 growth markets, and we remain committed to improving those over time. Delivering attractive returns supports new unit growth and market expansion, such as the recent successful launch of Firehouse Subs in Australia. In July, I visited our Firehouse business in Brazil with Thiago, Yuri and our local team, where transactions per restaurant are up over 60% just this year. While in Brazil, we also toured Burger King and Popeyes restaurants. Popeyes continues to perform very well with comparable sales up over 20% year-to-date on top of roughly 20% growth in 2025, resulting in improving unit economics. Meanwhile, our Burger King team has accelerated investments in restaurant image and operations, and they're seeing incredible results there so far. I'm also very encouraged by Burger King's performance in China under CPE's leadership. The team has hit the ground running with another quarter of double-digit comparable sales and a sequential improvement in unit economics. Their operational expertise, local market knowledge and fast pace of execution are very exciting to see, especially given the important role Burger King China plays in our path back to 5% net restaurant growth. International's performance in Q2 once again demonstrated that our growth is broad-based and repeatable. Across markets, our experienced local teams are executing a proven playbook that continues to generate attractive results in a wide range of consumer environments. After more than 4 years of consistent outperformance, this business remains one of the strongest long-term growth opportunities across our portfolio. Moving now to Burger King, which represents nearly 19% of our operating profit. The business delivered another exceptional quarter with comparable sales of 8.6%, driving system-wide sales growth of 8.2% for the second quarter in a row, we're seeing years of our team's hard work translate into strong absolute results and accelerating outperformance with U.S. same-store sales of 8.5% beating the burger QSR industry by over 9 points. In Q2, we continued building on the momentum established by the launch of our Whopper and brand elevation campaigns earlier this year. Those campaigns were just the first of many chapters in our multiyear elevation road map, all of which is anchored in listening to guest feedback to make the Burger King experience even better and more consistent across the country. More recently, we introduced the next phase of our journey, service elevation with the launch of the -- your Way Champion and Whopper Guarantee. Together, these initiatives reinforce our commitment to ensuring guests get their order their way every time. Every Burger King restaurant now has a dedicated -- your Way champion, a reimagined restaurant general manager devoted to putting the guest experience first and making things right whenever needed. And if a guest whopper isn't up to our standards, we'll remake it with the next one on us. Importantly, we have many more chapters in our elevation road map ahead of us from culinary improvements to operational initiatives to image, all of which supports durable outperformance. At the same time, we remain focused on the core pillars of our Claim the Flame by executing remodels, refranchisings and marketing centered around the Whopper, families and kids and consistent everyday value. Our Q2 marketing built on the momentum from the elevated Whopper with platforms like Whopper Wednesday and Whopper by You, featuring the loaded Halapenña Whopper, driving even more engagement with our flagship burger platform. We've seen Walker platform AUVs grow by over 20% since launching our elevation campaign, reinforcing our confidence that these initiatives are creating lasting behavior change. In May, we also strengthened our connection with families and kids by collaborating with Disney's Mandalorian, helping drive Q2 kids meal AUVs above $28 per day. That's up nearly 50% since 2022. We're excited about this achievement, but there is still significant opportunity to grow the category as we remain well below historical kids meal levels. Lastly, underlying all of this is our steady base of everyday value with $5 Duos and $7 Trios continuing to provide guests with consistent value and choice. This quarter is more evidence that Tom, his team and our dedicated franchisees have built and are continuing to build a better Burger King. We invited guests back earlier this year to experience the improvements we've made over the past 4 years, and our results year-to-date reinforce that those investments are resonating. What excites us most, though, is that we're still early in our journey with more chapters of marketing and menu elevation to come alongside continued restaurant remodels and operational improvements that will further strengthen the Burger King experience. Moving on to Popeyes, where U.S. net restaurant growth of 0.3% was more than offset by a same-store decline of 5.2%, resulting in system-wide sales of negative 3.3%. While sales remained soft during the quarter, we're encouraged by the improvement we saw and continue to execute against the same priorities we've discussed, improving operations and service, refocusing on our core menu and strengthening our value proposition. During the quarter, we completed the rollout of an improved tender spec across the system and continued leveraging our increased field support through operations coaching visits and training. These efforts contributed to improved product satisfaction across our core offerings. And moving forward, we'll continue innovating around those core platforms while ensuring operational simplicity. On value, the $5 phase platform introduced in January continues to perform well, driving higher repeat purchase behavior and helping to support traffic. In Q2, we layered on the $6 big box in our $20 family meal to serve additional occasions, and we'll continue to focus on maintaining consistent, easy-to-understand value for guests moving forward. Overall, Peter and his team are focused on the right things, and we remain confident in a return to positive comps in the second half of this year. By working closely with our franchisees, I'm confident Popeyes will deliver the best tasting, best value chicken in America. Finally, at Firehouse Subs, Q2 system-wide sales grew 7.5%, driven by 8.1% net restaurant growth and 0.4% comparable sales growth. Our new steak and cheese melt was well received by guests and unlocks future flavor innovation opportunities like our recently launched Smoke Honeymelts. I was just at our convention in Nashville with Mike and the team, and it was great to see the enthusiasm from our franchisees. They were especially excited about our July announcement naming Firehouse Subs as the official subpartner of Major League Baseball across the U.S. and Canada. As Firehouse's first national professional sports league partnership, it provides another meaningful platform to build awareness and support long-term growth. We also introduced our new ladder up training program for restaurant general managers, which began rolling out this summer and reflects our continued investment in developing great restaurant leaders. Separately, we continue to see excellent momentum across our development pipeline and remain on track to accelerate unit growth this year. With that, I'll hand it over to Sami. Sami Siddiqui: Thanks, Josh, and good morning, everyone. Today, I'll discuss our Q2 financial results, capital structure and our 2026 financial guidance. In Q2, comparable sales of 3.8% and net restaurant growth of 2.9% drove system-wide sales growth of 6.4%. We translated that into organic AOI growth of 6.7% and nominal adjusted EPS growth of 12.9%. This was another exciting quarter of accelerating top line growth, led by double-digit growth in our international business and high single-digit system-wide sales growth at Burger King and Firehouse. We also saw sequential improvement in net restaurant growth, led by a diverse mix of markets. We continue to expect net restaurant growth to accelerate through the second half of the year as we progress toward our 5% unit growth target by 2028. We converted our strong top line performance into double-digit earnings growth while returning capital to shareholders through both dividends and share repurchases. At the same time, we made further progress toward our goal of achieving corporate investment-grade leverage, which I'll update you on in a few moments. This quarter, adjusted EPS increased 12.9% to $1.07 per share from $0.94 last year. This was driven by our AOI growth as well as a $6 million year-over-year decrease in adjusted net interest expense. In addition, our adjusted effective tax rate this quarter was 16.8%, bringing our year-to-date tax rate to 17.6%. We continue to expect our full year adjusted effective tax rate to be between 18% and 19%. Now moving to cash flow and capital allocation. We generated $501 million of free cash flow in Q2, including the impact of $62 million of CapEx and cash inducements and a $22 million benefit from our swaps and hedges. We returned $435 million of capital to shareholders through our dividend and share repurchases, including repurchasing a total of $137 million of stock in the quarter. Importantly, we remain on track to repurchase approximately $500 million for the full year. We ended Q2 with total liquidity of approximately $2.3 billion, including $1.1 billion of cash and a net leverage ratio of 4.1x, down from the prior quarter. As we shared at our Investor Day, we remain committed to becoming an investment-grade company. And in May, we achieved an important milestone on that path by receiving a ratings upgrade from S&P to BB+. As our business grows, we will continue to naturally work our way down to corporate investment-grade leverage by 2028 or the low to mid-3x net leverage range. Finally, I'd like to discuss our 2026 financial guidance. First, we continue to expect segment G&A, excluding restaurant Holdings of about $600 million to $620 million for the full year. Second, we continue to expect net adjusted interest expense to stay approximately flat year-over-year in the $500 million to $520 million range based on a high 3% average SOFR rate, which flows through to less than 15% of our debt. Third, we continue to expect 2026 CapEx and cash inducements, including capital expenditures, tenant inducements and incentives to be around $400 million. Fourth, we continue to expect Tim Hortons supply chain margins to be roughly in line with 2025 levels. And last, we continue to expect total RH AOI of roughly $10 million to $20 million for the full year, reflecting the impact of Carrols restaurant refranchising, continued beef inflation and incremental investments in our international start-up businesses that we expect to continue until we transition ownership to new local partners. Lastly, I'd like to address FX rates, given recent movements in currency markets and U.S. dollar appreciation. Based on current rates, we expect an approximately $10 million headwind to AOI and a $0.02 to $0.03 headwind to adjusted EPS for the second half of 2026. To close, I'd like to take a step back. Year-to-date, we've delivered above algorithm same-store sales growth of 3.5%, above algorithm organic AOI growth of 8.5% and nearly 14% adjusted EPS growth. On top of that, we've returned $750 million of capital to shareholders through our dividend and buybacks, and we've made clear progress on the path to corporate investment-grade leverage. Those are great results that demonstrate the strength of our business model and show we're executing against the plan we outlined at our Investor Day. And importantly, they keep us on track to deliver 8% organic adjusted operating income growth. And with that, I'll turn it over to Patrick to provide his perspective on the quarter. Unknown Executive: Thanks, Sami. Three months ago, I said I didn't believe our Q1 consolidated results were an outlier. I believe they reflected years of work that we're finally beginning to show up in our top line. Q2 has only strengthened that conviction. Burger King's performance this quarter was exceptional. Growing same-store sales by high single digits in today's restaurant environment is an outstanding outcome, especially following the momentum we delivered in Q1. What's really encouraging to me is what those results tell us about guest behavior. Today, guests have more choices than ever before for where to eat and where to spend their dining dollars. And every day, more and more of them are choosing Burger King. That's the clearest indication that the work we've been doing is resonating. We're winning because we're delivering a better guest experience, and that's exactly what Tom and his team set out to accomplish when they launched Reclaim the Flame 4 years ago. One thing I've learned over the years is that businesses rarely change overnight. They change because thousands of people make thousands of better decisions every single day. That's what's happened at Burger King. The effects of better operations, better culinary, better marketing, better restaurants and better franchisees have been compounding for several years. This quarter is an important milestone, but I see it as the results of that compounding work, not as the beginning or end of anything. The Burger King team and our franchisees have accomplished a tremendous amount, but they'd be the first to tell you we aren't close to finish. We continue to see opportunities to elevate the menu, strengthen operations and keep raising standards across the system. That's the mindset you want after delivering results like these because it means they're focused on building a better business for the long term, not just celebrating a strong quarter. And the reality is there are still meaningful parts of the business we haven't yet transformed, which gives me confidence there's plenty of runway ahead. More broadly, I think our year-to-date results say something important about RBI as a whole. We built this company around 4 iconic brands in 4 of the fastest-growing global QSR categories. Each of our brands has different opportunities and is at different stages of their journey. That intentional diversification allows us to continue growing sales and earnings while investing for the future. We don't need every brand to have the same results each quarter or be at the same point in its journey for RBI to deliver strong consolidated results. What matters is that we're consistently strengthening each business over time. I think that's one of the defining advantages of this company, and it's that balanced strength and consistent top line growth that continues to give me confidence in our ability to grow adjusted operating income by 8% and EPS at an even faster rate. Our international business is another great example of that diversification. I continue to believe we have the strongest scaled international business in the restaurant industry. We are the only global QSR to grow our international system-wide sales by double digits each of the last few years. Our growth at scale is unmatched in consistency and in the absolute. And with Burger King China back on track, my confidence in our ability to continue outperforming is high. At Tim Hortons, while our comparable sales performance wasn't our best this quarter, I remain incredibly confident in Tims, its strength and love with our Canadian guests and most importantly, in Axel, his team and our restaurant owners in Canada. Tims is a stunningly strong business and brand, and we will continue to drive this going forward. We're proud of what we've accomplished in the first half of the year, but we also know that our shareholders expect consistency and sustainable strength. The bar we've set for ourselves is higher today than it was a year ago, and that's exactly how it should be. Our job is to continue earning investor confidence quarter after quarter. We have a lot of work left to do, but I couldn't be more confident in our people, our plans and our ability to keep executing. With that, operator, let's open the line for questions. Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Brian Brittner with Oppenheimer & Co. Brian Bittner: Congratulations on the year-to-date results. Congratulations on Burger King's standout quarter. As it relates to Burger King, I can certainly attest that my 3 boys are definitely helping that kids meal growth. They love their Burger King. And clearly, years of hard work seems to be showing up in the results. this year, and it's created some momentum. But you also said that you think you're still very early on in your journey, which suggests you still see a runway for above-average growth moving forward. And I think you gained the credibility to say it. And I know you're winning because you've tackled and improved the underlying fundamentals, but I would love to hear what you believe at this point in the journey may be the most overlooked drivers that you can still unlock for this brand moving forward to drive more outperformance. Joshua Kobza: Brian, thanks for the questions. And mostly, I think you just -- thank you because I think you just put a smile on the face of everybody in this room. So we appreciate it. I appreciate your voice love for Burger King. I would just echo a little bit of what you said. We do very much feel that there's a lot in front of us. We feel great about the sustainability of what we're doing because it's built on improving the fundamentals. We see operations having improved tremendously over the last 3 to 4 years. We've started to make some progress on image, and we're starting to execute all the menu items that we serve even better. And if I can just take a fren seat, I think our team has done a great job, but I would like to say thank you as well to our franchisees because for as much money as we're investing in the system, they've been investing even more in bringing their restaurants up to modern image. And I think it's that alignment that we have with the franchisees that's been so powerful in the journey that we've been on over the last few years. And all the operational improvements as well, we have a hand in that, but really is our franchisees who have committed to upgrading operations in the restaurants. And so I think we have a lot to thank them for and making sure that we're serving you and your 3 boys better every day at each of the restaurants you go to. In terms of what we have in front of us, I think we do -- I think Patrick mentioned this, we feel like we have a lot ahead of us. As much as we've made progress on image, we still have a lot of restaurants out there that aren't modern image. So I think we still got a few years left of getting to that point we've all talked about where almost every Burger King across America is a new modern Burger King. So I think there's still a big tailwind that we'll realize over the next few years. I think as well on operations, we've made progress. It was actually -- I think we were tied for the #1 burger chain in the ACSI index, which was a big evolution. But it still feels like we have a long way to go, and we still have spots within the system where we want to get better. So I still think there's a lot of progress to be made there. And maybe one of the bigger things that we're still working on is we really want to continue to upgrade and elevate the menu. You saw us do this with the Whopper at the beginning of this year, but there's still a lot of other parts of the menu that we think can be made even better. You're going to see another chapter of this coming up in the next, call it, month or so, which we're pretty excited about. And we've got a few more chapters of menu elevation that are going to come over the next year and into 2027. So I would say really happy with the progress, but there is a lot of work left to do over the next couple of years, and we're looking forward to it, and we think there's just a lot more potential for the brand than what we've realized so far. Patrick, anything you want to add to that? Unknown Executive: Yes, Brian, first, congrats on raising your boys correctly. I know you've heard me talk about this before, but growth in this industry is -- happens because you wake up in the morning and you're confident that your average guest is going to have a better experience today than they did a year ago. And the reason I'm confident in Burger King's performance going forward is I know what we're working on in terms of culinary. There are still things that we know can be better on our menu. I know we're going to have more remodeled modern image restaurants a year from now than we do today. We've got our value layer figured out and it's consistent. And the more people know that they can come to us for great value, it's going to do well. Our franchisees are leaning in and they're aligned with us, and they're committed to working with us to find ways to improve the service in our restaurants every day. So my confidence level that our guests are going to have a better experience a year from now than they do today is high. And in a similar manner to how they're having a better experience today than they were a year ago. And that's what's going to drive growth. It's not going to be a new promotion that's going to do it. It's going to be that our marketing is talking about the truth, which is you're having a better experience at Burger King now than a year ago, and you're going to have a better experience a year from now than you do today. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Dennis Geiger with UBS. Dennis Geiger: Very helpful color on Tims Canada in the quarter. I wanted to ask a bit more about the improvement that you saw through the quarter and whether that was a function of some of the marketing adjustments maybe that you spoke to or something else that you would call out? And as importantly, as it relates to maybe thinking about the back half of the year and the trajectory for the brand through the back half after the improvement you've been seeing through the second quarter. Anything to highlight there? -- anything as it relates to the macro environment in Canada to call out or the competitive environment or anything else as it relates to your own execution and strategy? Joshua Kobza: Dennis, thanks for the question. I'll try to address a couple of pieces of that -- so in terms of the sequencing through the quarter, I do feel like some of our marketing got a little bit better. We had some stuff that didn't work as well in the first part of the quarter. And we had some stuff that worked a little better, things like melt that came later on. It was something that guests had asked us for, for a long time. we ride back, they really liked it. So that helped. I would say, overall, the macro picture in Canada has been relatively stable. If you look at things like CPI, it's been around kind of 3%. Unemployment has been in sort of the mid-6s, interest rates in the low 2s. Maybe that CPI ticked up a little bit with gas prices in the beginning part of the quarter, and that could have had a little bit of impact. But I would say the broad macro indicators across the quarter point to like a pretty stable Canadian macro environment. And if you look at kind of foodservice growth overall in Q2 in Canada wasn't so far off the U.S. So I really think a lot of this is in our control, and that's what's encouraging in terms of how we saw things improve as I think we got some better momentum on the marketing side. I think stepping back and then looking forward, this team led by Axel has an incredible track record, right? We're on 21 quarters now of driving positive same-store sales. So they are incredibly talented and really know what they're doing. And I think they've got some exciting stuff that we've launched recently and some really positive things that are going to come out in the back part of the year. I think we mentioned that we just launched Macha. That's something we were all really excited about, and we're pleased with so far. It's a particularly exciting one because it's a whole new occasion. It tends to skew heavily into cold beverage and also PM, which is one of the dayparts we're really trying to grow. tends to be something that people come in, in the afternoon as an afternoon drink, and that's very complementary to our existing warning business. So we've got that out there now. I think we have a tremendously good product, and it's a baseline that we can also innovate off of into the future. So we're pretty excited about that. We obviously have big expectations for our Harry Potter partnership. It's something that appeals to all ages, has been out there for a long time. So we think it will bring in a lot of different age groups. And I think our team has done a terrific job on the innovation across both some of the food innovations, the beverage innovations and everything that comes along with it that's going to generate a lot of excitement here in Canada. On top of that, we're going to bring out more breakfast innovation to reinforce our AM daypart across the back half of the year. We're very excited for the loyalty partnership with Canadian Tire, bringing together some of the most iconic Canadian brands and bring additional benefits to our guests to be loyal Tim's Rewards members. And the last part I would call out just as you look over the next 6 to 9 months is we're making really good progress systematically rolling out our new fountain systems in our -- all of our restaurants across Canada. And that's enabling further innovation pipelines. You might think of things like Soda World that we've generated some pretty great excitement about. It's a wonderful beverage opportunity for us. So I think we've got a pretty great pipeline for the second half of this year and look forward to sharing the results of that as we get through Q3 and Q4. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of David Palmer with Evercore ISI. David Palmer: That last answer was really where I was going to go with this because I think the market would love to see, call it, 2% plus comps out of Tims Canada. And if you can get there, it feels like you're going to have to do that with market share gains. It just feels like that market is going to remain soft for a while. I don't know if you would agree with that. And some of the things you mentioned, it do sound like sales layer-ish as opposed to Harry Potter will take those benefits. But I think right now, people want to see sustainable food, beverage value news. So maybe you can just speak to what you think -- to what degree you feel like you're digging a little bit deeper to gain share in a more durable way up there, kind of questioning how much of a leadership you might have in certain things to maybe on a more sustainable basis, continue to gain share or perhaps accelerate share gains because you kind of need to... Joshua Kobza: Dave, I'll take that one. In terms of the market share and how the market is growing, I kind of started to mention it but in the prior answer, but I'll go there a little bit further. Actually, the Canadian foodservice market is doing okay. The growth rate for the overall foodservice market was in the 3% range in terms of sales for the quarter, which is very similar to the U.S. market. And I think what's going on within that market is just that some chains are doing better and some chains are not doing as well. So that's why I really feel this is very much in our control. And we have an incredible business, the best franchisees and restaurant operators in Canada and a wonderful team leading the business here. And I think they've got a lot of things that they're working on here that will allow us to perform well within a market that I think is doing all right. So in terms of the few different categories you mentioned, on value, we are the #1 value leader in Canada. If you look at any of the brand scores, we have been and continue to be a leader in providing the best value and best value for money across Canada. So I think we're in a good spot there. And to a couple of the other points you made, what we've really been focused on is the food and bev side. And I think our team is doing a really nice job on the innovation front on Cold bev, which has been our big priority. I mentioned Matcha, that's probably one of the most exciting things that we can do, but we've got a couple of other additional innovations that will come up over the next 6 to 9 months to drive sustainable growth. And hopefully, in new dayparts as well. That was -- I think that's an interesting thing about Matcha. It brings guests back in for another visit at a daypart they might not otherwise come. And I think that's how you drive sustainable kind of layers of growth. And lastly, on the food side, we've had some things that worked well and others that didn't work as well. And I think that's where melts have come back, and that's working really well. And I think we'll come up with some more innovations on the PM food side in the next 6 to 12 months, too, that allow us to add sustainable growth there. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Danilo Gargiulo from Bernstein. Danilo Gargiulo: I want to again ask one more question on Tim Hortons. And specifically, the competitive environment is sharpening in Canada. There is also a notable Northeast chain that plans to reenter the market rapidly. So my question is about the speed of innovation that you think on -- especially on the beverage side, you might need to be adopting going forward to be able to sense off the increased competitive environment and their intention to be gaining share outside of the core coffee. And specifically, if we just look at the menu that you offer compared to your competitors, there are some meaningful gaps, which, on the one hand, might present some opportunity for you because you can build some layers of growth from it. But on the other hand, might put you at disadvantage compared to others who are already present in that category. So I'm wondering how are you planning -- are you planning to increase the speed of innovation? And if so, what is the trade-off on that? And if not, how are you planning to, again, compete against these new brands that are coming into Canada? Joshua Kobza: Thanks, No. I think all of the QSR markets around the world are always competitive, and I think that's going to be the case in Canada and everywhere else around the world. So I think that's part of the world we do and always will live with. So I don't think there's anything too new there. In terms of the pace of innovation, I think we to your point, we do have a lot of opportunities of Cold bev innovation. I take that as an exciting thing. And I think we're getting faster in how quickly we're bringing these things to market. I think the pace of new Cold bev innovation has definitely stepped up. And I would take the Matcha launch as one of those examples. We've now launched that nationally and brought, I would say, a whole new offering and a whole new experience to many folks around Canada that were never exposed to it before. And so I think that's a great example. It's one we have clear in our minds amongst the team here of moving quickly. And I think you'll see that same pace of innovation as you look out over the next 6 to 12 months. Unknown Executive: Yes, Daniel, it's Patrick. The thing I'd add to it is the culinary team here is terrific. We had our Board here yesterday. We were sampling things that are going to be launching in the future. I'm very excited about them. I had some other beverages this morning when I arrived. I mean there's really terrific work happening here. We really understand the breakfast daypart extraordinarily well. We're maintaining share at least on our core coffee customer, but doing extraordinarily well with cold bev and things that are already on our menu and coming on our menu in the future. My confidence level on Tims is really high. This -- I go back to the answer I was giving on Burger King. This is a business that has consistently performed over the last 5 years because it is getting better at serving its guests. both in terms of the service of the perception of value in how the restaurants look. We're remodeling hundreds of restaurants this year. We're starting to build new ones up here because the return for the franchisees is great. And our competitive set in Canada 5 years from now is going to be pretty much identical to what our competitive set is today. Announcements aside, I mean, Starbucks, I think, had a very good start to the year. But they're 1/4 of the restaurants that we have. This is all in our control. And the consumer environment, the economy is no different this year than it was last year. This is about continuing to find ways to be more interesting. We think the loyalty deal that we're doing and combining the program so that -- with Canadian Tires, so that Tim's customers get Canadian Tire points as well is exciting. Getting absolute first-class properties like Harry Potter is terrific. The innovation we're doing is great. Our franchisees are doing a great job on service. There's just a lot that's working well. And if we've got an off quarter, okay, team is moving quickly to make sure that we're going to improve that going forward. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of John Ivankoe Evanko with JP Morgan. John Ivankoe: I know, obviously, international is a big segment with a lot of brands and many more countries kind of in it. So I just wanted to focus on the aggregate brand numbers and talk about where you see particular strength from a return on investment perspective and where you see significant opportunities. And I do want to put that in the context of average unit volumes. And I understand it's kind of dangerous to talk about exact average unit volumes considering how different formats and countries can be. But Tim Hortons in the second quarter annualizing around 450,000, Popeyes around $1.2 million, I think, and Burger King at around $1.5 million. And obviously, all 3 of those numbers are less than what you're doing in those brands' respective core markets. So if we can just highlight a little bit more where there's particular return on investment strength on, I guess, per brand per country basis and where you see significant opportunities to improve to where we could hopefully see improvements in those average unit volumes relative to their core or home markets. And I know it's a big question, but it's an important one. Joshua Kobza: Thanks, John. I'll try and if I miss you, Sami or Patrick, feel free to jump in here. If I look across our Burger King business in international, and then I'll move on to Popeyes and some of Tim's I think some of the highest return places are some of the places that we're growing the fastest. So I would look to places like France, where we have very strong AUVs and a great return on capital for our partners. That has been our single biggest growth driver, maybe not in NRG KPI, but certainly in terms of system-wide sales over the last 10 years or so now. That returns there are really good. Returns in places like Spain are also really good, and that's -- I think one of the reasons why we have a very large unit count there now. And if I look across places in Asia, we have very strong returns in countries like Japan, which is now one of the biggest unit growth drivers there. Countries like Korea also has really good returns on capital, countries like Australia, New Zealand, also very high ARS. And then I think you have a couple where we have meaningfully improving unit economics. And I put on that list countries like Burger King and China, where we had really good unit economics, they got softer for a while. And now over the last 2 years, given same-store sales performance, we've seen a very material improvement in the unit economics. And I think in China, Johnson and Daniel are doing just a terrific job. And I think they're getting those unit economics close to a place where it's going to be very compelling for them to accelerate the pace of growth, which is, I think, one of the most important things that we certainly have our eyes on. The other market I would call out in Asia would be India. It's been one of our growth contributors for a while. And I think you probably just saw Raj and team are doing a really nice job. They had a terrific quarter, same-store sales up double digits, and that's starting to put their unit economics to an even more compelling place. So those are probably some of the ones that I would highlight as the biggest ones that will kind of move that are either really good or really improving that are probably some of the influential factors in the pace of our net restaurant growth. I can -- I'll move to Popeyes real quick. If I look at the Popeyes market, I would say places like U.K. have great average unit volumes and are growing a lot. And then you've got a lot of countries who are kind of coming up the maturation curve, countries like Spain or Brazil, for example, who have been growing their same-store sales a lot, and they're now getting unit economics to more and more compelling places to accelerate growth. Another big market for us is Turkey. It's probably one of our oldest markets in the Popeyes International business. It's been performing extremely well and has very good returns on capital, a little bit lower CapEx there. But we've been growing there well into the double digits for many years now. Actually, I think our biggest competitor exited the market, and we took a bunch of market share. And then you have countries in Asia Pacific like India or China, which may have lower ARS, they also have lower CapEx. And we're now seeing some really strong same-store sales growth in both of those markets that are getting the unit economics to a place where it's increasingly compelling to scale those brands. Sorry, I know this is long, but I'm trying to exhaustively get through all of them. And I'll try on Tims here and then see if Sami he wants to add anything. Tims in terms of our biggest and our kind of most important markets, Places like Mexico already have really good unit economics. Those have good ARS and good margin profiles. The U.K. is probably one of the bigger system-wide sales markets, which also has pretty high ARS. The Middle East has lower ARS, but has lower CapEx. they tend to be smaller formats. And then I put places like China as places we've got some work to do. We have lower, they tend to be smaller formats, and we're putting in place a plan there, and we put in some capital into that market to change the trajectory and further improve unit economics, just like we did in Burger King in China. I probably missed some stuff though. So Sami, anything you want to add there? Sami Siddiqui: Yes. Thanks, John, for the question. And I think Josh gave a nice geography lessons there, which is very helpful. I might take it from maybe a different lens. John. And really, as we laid out the path to 5% unit growth at our Investor Day, we talked about roughly 1,100 net new units from international and about 700 of those being from our top 10 growth markets. So if you think about the top 10 growth markets, and Josh mentioned -- and I'm speaking particularly to Burger King, but when Josh mentioned a number of those markets, if you look at actually -- I know you're looking at the ARS, which is one way to look at it. We look at the paybacks often. And actually, if you look at the paybacks of those top 10 markets, in aggregate, it's between 4 and 5 years on new units, and it's improving. So you're actually seeing, Josh mentioned markets like Japan and Korea and a couple of others that are actually driving a bunch of the improving paybacks. So our goal is to continue working on this because ultimately, if we can drive the payback, it will help support the growth model. I think the other thing to call out when you're looking at the ARS, particularly on kind of a global level, if you strip out China, which as we've talked about, generally has lower ARS, actually, our international ARS for the Burger King business is pretty similar to our U.S. business AR. And the paybacks actually in our international business, particularly for those top 10 markets is better than the paybacks that we're seeing on Burger King in the U.S. Now Tom and team are doing a great job of improving the unit economics in the U.S. So I think it's a nice little race that we had between Tom and Tiago to get those paybacks to be best-in-class. But I actually think when you back out China out of those metrics, you see pretty exciting and impressive paybacks that support the growth model. Operator: Your next question comes from Sara Senatore with Bank of America. Sara Senatore: I guess I wanted to just touch on Popeyes because we haven't really talked about it yet. I know it's not -- it's certainly not the biggest of your segments, but it's still, I think, something like 10% of operating profit. So could you just maybe address kind of -- it seems like the turnaround is going a little bit more slowly than anticipated. Maybe what the issues are there? I think you've said in the past that the problems are more operational in nature. But I guess if I think about the operating model, it actually seems fairly straightforward to me. So maybe is this a value issue? I know you're working on that. Is it a menu innovation or competition? There's some thought that maybe just chicken is saturated at this point. Anything you can sort of pinpoint -- and are you seeing data that suggests that 2H, you're comfortably positive? Or I guess, is the idea maybe it's later in the year and you're optimistic about some of the initiatives you have in place? Joshua Kobza: Yes, sure. I would say Popeyes is going exactly pretty much as we hoped it would. And that's why I reiterated that we expect 2H to be positive. We're obviously a week into August, and we're kind of thought -- we're where we thought we should be and needed to be for that. In terms of the different priorities, I would say we're tracking well across all of them. The few that I laid out a few months back, and I think Peter addressed at Investor Day were, one, addressing some of the value consistency. And I think we've addressed that very quickly with $5 paves with our $20 family meal and pulsing in the $6 big box. So that's been very effective and worked exactly as we thought it would and maybe a little bit better, and that's helped to bring traffic back in and stabilize sales. On the marketing side, we've definitely brought focus back to our core menu, focusing on tenders, sandwich and bone-in chicken, and we've seen some of the volumes in those stabilize. We've also seen product satisfaction improve across all of our core SKUs, which is what we were hoping to see. So I think that's working really well. And we're starting to see some ops progress and more consistency there, things like guest complaints and errors in our stores are starting to move in the right direction. So I think we're seeing some progress on that. That tends to take a little bit longer. So I think there will be -- some of the things are faster like value and while others like operational improvements across the system will take a little bit more time. But we made the big investments that we wanted to make. We've dramatically expanded the field team and those folks are starting to really engage with our restaurants and make progress in some of the ones that were lagging behind a little bit. So I feel very good about the work that Peter is doing. And I think the kind of the recovery is very much on track with what we were hoping for. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Brian Mullen with Piper Sandler. Brian Mullen: Coming back to Burger King in the U.S., can you provide an update on the refranchising process, the demand you're seeing there and if everything is on track with how you discussed it at the Investor Day? And then separately, just on the remodeling front, does the strengthening momentum in the business, is that enough to have franchisees potentially pick up the pace of it? Or would you need to see more time to see a noticeable impact on the modern image pace? Sami Siddiqui: Thanks, Brian. I can take the beginning part of the question, and Josh or Patrick, feel free to chime in. On the refranchising side, sort of as a reminder and stepping back, 2 years ago, when we sort of closed on the Carrols acquisition, we talked about refranchising starting in years 3 through 7 following the acquisition. We were really pleased to start refranchising restaurants much earlier than expected based on the momentum at Burger King. And we started in late 2025 with the refranchising. I'd say the first half of this year, though Q2 is probably a little bit slower than we would have expected, we actually look at the pipeline of potential buyers, and we're actually really, really pleased with what we're seeing. Since our Investor Day, the top of the funnel pipeline has more than doubled in terms of folks who are interested in acquiring restaurants. And so we still think we're on track. The second half, you will see an acceleration in terms of refranchising. And we'll do a few hundred refranchisings here in 2026. and then the remainder in 2027, really with the goal of sunsetting the RH segment by the end of '27 as we outlined at our Investor Day. So we're still on track. I think when we talked about this, the path was not going to be entirely linear. These transactions, they take some time, and we're trying to find the right buyers most importantly because ultimately, we think that the best thing we can do is get these restaurants in the hands of the right operators. Taking kind of the second part of your question, which was, I think, on the remodel pace. As we think about the pace of remodels and look, we're very, very pleased with the top line momentum in the Burger King system. And we're pleased with the momentum on the bottom line, though I would say beef costs are still -- I mean, Q2 was still at all-time high beef costs running through the P&Ls of our franchisees. So when we think about the flow-through to profitability, it will probably be a little bit more delayed as beef costs are just starting to come down. As you kind of look at the futures markets on beef, we are expecting a little bit of relief, but I think a lot more of that relief will come in the beginning of 2027. So as you start to see that relief come through with the top line momentum we're seeing, we think that will be really healthy for our Burger King franchisees. And look, our franchisees are incredibly supportive and excited about the remodel program. And as they start to see their P&Ls get even stronger, I think you'll see that momentum. But I think it will be on a bit of a lag and you'll see that acceleration a little bit more into 2027 as they see their '26 P&Ls come in. Joshua Kobza: Maybe I can add just one thought on top of what Sami said about the refranchising. I would tell you that Tom and I have spent basically all of our market visits over the last 6 to 12 months, visiting new franchisees who are buying restaurants and getting into the system or existing franchisees buying restaurants or those considering participating in the refranchising. And our view there is we really want to make sure that we have the right franchisees who are set up for success and that we're going to deliver on the vision that we had to have hands-on local operators running these restaurants because we believe that, that's going to be such a key to our future success. And we also -- we want to make sure that we're being a supportive franchisor and we're really going to support these new franchisees in the way that they need to be successful. So that's been a huge focus for us, and it will be, and that's where we're spending a lot of our time. Unknown Executive: I'd add one thing, which is, I mean, I'm excited by great operators coming in. They're seeing a terrific opportunity. And we've got really smart operators that are see this opportunity to grow with this brand with real momentum behind it. And the interesting thing is they're coming from kind of 4 places. I mean it's existing franchisees in the system who want to grow and see an opportunity to do that. It's coming from external folks who have not been in the system before. It's coming from our Crown -- your career candidates coming up through Carrols and our own corporate operations. But also, it's been from people in our corporate office, people, field team, people who know how to operate great restaurants. So we're seeing a lot of interest. And certainly, as people externally see the momentum in this brand and how we're performing versus the industry even in this environment, we're excited about kind of the people who are coming and how they want to grow with us. Operator: Your next question comes from Andrew Charles with TD Cowen. Andrew Charles: You guys reiterated the algorithm 8% AOI growth for 2026. And in the first half of the year, you did see portfolio same-store sales up 3.5%. And I'm wondering if you can make the claim or the prediction that 3% plus portfolio same-store sales long-term growth algorithm will be achieved in 2026. I know you talked about how confidence in sustained momentum of Burger King, Kim's got better for the quarter, Popeyes getting back to positive in the back half of the year. Is that enough to get you to 3% plus portfolio same-store sales for the full year this year? Joshua Kobza: Andrew, what I would say is I think if you look at -- to your point, the business performance has been pretty good through the first half of the year. And I think standing where we do today, we continue to feel good about where we're going in the second half. Operator: The last question will come from Gregory Francfort with Guggenheim. Gregory Francfort: I kind of just wanted to ask about in the U.S. market. I don't know if it's Burger King or more broadly, where is pricing or check running as a part of your comps? And I ask it within the context of one of your major competitors kind of took up some of their pricing expectations for the year and kind of talked about franchisees maybe pushing ahead of where they want to be on pricing. And I guess those conversations that you're having, particularly maybe entry-level pricing, how are they going? And are you seeing any changes in compliance or those negotiations? Just any thoughts there. Joshua Kobza: Greg, I would say that we're really trying to be disciplined on menu pricing. We think it's -- we understand very clearly that one of the things we provide to our guests is value for money. I think the kind of menu price increases have been running probably low single digits, but I think we've been pretty restrained on those. There are things like beef inflation that have been a bit of a headwind, but there are some other things that are offsets to it. And we also were cognizant of the fact that beef is at an all-time high, and it looks like there's some signs it might come down. So we realize we've got to cushion some of those things at some point. So we've tried to be pretty restrained. And I think by and large, our franchisees do understand that, understand what we're trying to deliver, understand the broader brand narrative. And I think we've been able to maintain pretty good alignment on what we're trying to accomplish. I don't know, Sami, if there's anything you want to add to that? Sami Siddiqui: Yes. I think when you look at the numbers year-to-date for the Burger King system, actually, I think we've been quite disciplined on price. And I think as you look at the mix in the business, we've had a pretty healthy mix in the business, right? So as you think about the elevated Whopper and all the great work that Tom and team are doing with that, we're selling a lot more full-price whoppers, and it's a great value on a stand-alone basis, and there's great value in $5 and $7 Duos and Trios. So providing great value across the menu with the right mix is really the formula. And our franchisees are very supportive of that formula. I think they continue to buy in, and they're seeing it in their P&L. Operator: This concludes the question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call back to Josh Kobza for closing remarks. Joshua Kobza: Great. Well, thank you all for joining today. We wish everyone a great day and look forward to updating you once again on our Q3 call. Thanks so much. Operator: This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect. 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This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool recommends Restaurant Brands International. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Restaurant Brands (QSR) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) is back in focus after its latest quarterly update highlighted earnings that met or beat expectations, with Burger King momentum tied to menu changes and extensive restaurant remodeling efforts. See our latest analysis for Restaurant Brands International. The latest earnings update and capital returns have arrived after a period where Restaurant Brands International’s share price return has cooled in the short term, with the stock down over the past month and quarter. However, its year-to-date gain of 8.14% and 1-year total shareholder return of 17.34% still point to positive longer term momentum. If you are weighing Restaurant Brands International against other opportunities in consumer and service driven themes, it can help to widen the lens and check out 18 top founder-led companies Restaurant Brands International shares have cooled after strong recent results and fresh buybacks. For anyone looking at the stock today, the real puzzle is whether most of the value is already reflected or if clear upside still exists as the valuation stands. The most followed valuation narrative currently places Restaurant Brands International’s fair value at $85.92, compared with the last close of $73.33, framing a potential valuation gap for investors to assess. Read the complete narrative. Want to see what sits behind that international growth story and capital light model assumptions? The narrative leans on specific revenue, margin and earnings paths that may surprise you. Result: Fair Value of $85.92 (UNDERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, Restaurant Brands International still faces pressure from elevated commodity costs and potential setbacks in international markets, which could limit the upside implied by that fair value. Find out about the key risks to this Restaurant Brands International narrative. With both risks and rewards in play for Restaurant Brands International, it makes sense to move quickly and test the narrative against the underlying numbers yourself. To weigh those trade offs in one place, start with the 5 key rewards and 1 important warning sign If Restaurant Brands International has your attention, do not stop here. Put a few minutes into scanning other opportunities so you are not leaving potential ideas on the table. Target reliable cash generators by reviewing companies in the 49 high quality undervalued stocks that combine quality fundamentals with prices that may not fully reflect their financial profile. Strengthen your income stream and see which businesses stand out for yield and consistency through the 8 dividend fortresses that highlights higher yielding dividend payers. Prioritize capital protection by focusing on resilient companies with healthier balance sheets using the 85 resilient stocks with low risk scores that flags stocks with lower overall risk scores. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include QSR. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Fast-food company Restaurant Brands (NYSE:QSR) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2026, with sales up 4.6% year on year to $2.52 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.07 per share was 3.2% above analysts’ consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy QSR? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $2.52 billion vs analyst estimates of $2.53 billion (4.6% year-on-year growth, in line) Adjusted EPS: $1.07 vs analyst estimates of $1.04 (3.2% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $810 million vs analyst estimates of $810 million (32.1% margin, in line) Operating Margin: 28.4%, up from 20% in the same quarter last year Locations: 33,156 at quarter end, up from 32,229 in the same quarter last year Same-Store Sales rose 3.8% year on year (2.4% in the same quarter last year) Market Capitalization: $25.46 billion Restaurant Brands’ second quarter results reflected steady execution across its multi-brand portfolio, with particular strength from Burger King and international markets. Management pointed to Burger King’s same-store sales outperformance and ongoing operational improvements as key drivers for the quarter. CEO Josh Kobza emphasized the company’s alignment with franchisees and highlighted strong performance in international markets such as Germany, Spain, and China. Kobza noted, “Our results highlight the strength of our diversified portfolio and disciplined operating model.” Tim Hortons’ performance was mixed, with soft early-quarter sales offset by late-quarter menu innovation. Looking ahead, Restaurant Brands’ management is focused on accelerating net restaurant growth and further menu innovation, particularly at Burger King and Tim Hortons. The company plans to leverage new marketing campaigns, partnerships, and loyalty programs to strengthen guest engagement and drive visits. CFO Sami Siddiqui noted that maintaining disciplined pricing and investing in operational improvements remain priorities, especially as beef cost pressures are expected to ease gradually. Kobza added, “We have a pretty great pipeline for the second half of this year and look forward to sharing the results.” Management attributed the quarter’s steady performance to Burger King’s operational upgrades, international expansion, and new menu innovation, while acknowledging ongoing improvement efforts at Tim Hortons and Popeyes. Burger King U.S. operational upgrades: The brand’s elevation strategy, including dedicated guest experience managers and the Whopper Guarantee, contributed to a notable sales outperformance versus competitors. Management credited alignment with franchisees and continued investment in remodels and menu upgrades as drivers of momentum. International business as growth engine: Strong execution in markets such as Germany, Spain, Brazil, China, Korea, and Japan helped drive double-digit international system-wide sales growth. Localized menu innovation and marketing partnerships, like the Mandalorian collaboration, supported broad-based gains. Tim Hortons late-quarter innovation: Tim Hortons in Canada saw mixed results, with flat early-quarter sales improved by the launch of melts and growth in cold beverages. Upcoming partnerships (e.g., Harry Potter campaign) and a new loyalty program with Canadian Tire are expected to boost engagement. Popeyes operational turnaround: While Popeyes U.S. saw same-store sales decline, management highlighted improvements in value offerings, menu focus, and field operations. Recent initiatives, such as the $5 platform and enhanced product quality, are showing early signs of stabilizing traffic. Firehouse Subs strategic partnerships: Firehouse Subs achieved strong unit growth and entered into a major sponsorship with Major League Baseball, aiming to raise brand awareness and support long-term expansion. New flavor innovations and training initiatives were also launched. Restaurant Brands expects continued growth to be driven by new product launches, international expansion, and operational investments, while monitoring input cost pressures and competitive activity. Menu innovation and marketing: Upcoming campaigns at Tim Hortons, including the Harry Potter partnership and cold beverage launches, are designed to increase guest visits and expand into new dayparts. Burger King will continue menu elevation efforts, building on the Whopper campaign’s momentum. Accelerated unit growth: Management aims to ramp up net restaurant openings, particularly internationally, with a focus on markets showing strong paybacks such as France, Japan, and Korea. Progress toward 5% net unit growth by 2028 remains a central long-term goal. Margin management and cost discipline: Management highlighted plans to maintain pricing discipline despite inflationary pressures, particularly in beef. Easing input costs and franchisee profitability improvements are expected to support continued investment in remodels and operational enhancements. Looking ahead, the StockStory team will be closely monitoring (1) the impact of new menu items and marketing campaigns at Tim Hortons and Burger King on guest traffic and sales, (2) progress toward accelerating international unit growth, especially in key markets like China and France, and (3) signs of sustained operational improvements at Popeyes and franchisee profitability as beef input costs moderate. Execution on loyalty partnerships and international expansion will be important markers of ongoing strategy success. Restaurant Brands currently trades at $73.65, down from $74.50 just before the earnings. 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Interested in Restaurant Brands International Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Restaurant Brands International delivered solid Q2 growth: Systemwide comparable sales rose 3.8%, adjusted EPS increased 12.9% to $1.07, and organic adjusted operating income grew 6.7%. Burger King U.S. led the performance with 8.5% same-store sales growth. International operations provided additional momentum, with 5.5% comparable-sales growth and 5.1% net restaurant growth. Burger King China again posted double-digit comparable-sales growth, supporting the company’s goal of reaching 5% annual net restaurant growth by 2028. Results were mixed across other major brands: Tim Hortons Canada was nearly flat at 0.1% comparable-sales growth, while Popeyes U.S. same-store sales fell 5.2%. Management is relying on new promotions, operational improvements and value offerings to restore Popeyes to positive comparable sales in the second half of 2026. Is Wingstop's Growth Story Losing Steam? Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) reported second-quarter results that showed continued sales and earnings growth, led by Burger King U.S. and its international operations, while Tim Hortons Canada posted nearly flat comparable sales and Popeyes remained under pressure. Chief Executive Officer Josh Kobza said the company generated 3.8% systemwide comparable-sales growth and 2.9% net restaurant growth in the quarter ended June 30. Those results drove 6.4% systemwide sales growth, 6.7% organic adjusted operating income growth and 12.9% adjusted earnings-per-share growth. → Sandisk Just Delivered a Blowout Quarter—Here's Why the Stock Is Falling MarketBeat Week in Review – 06/29 - 07/03 Adjusted EPS rose to $1.07 from $0.94 a year earlier. Kobza said the company has exceeded its long-term 3% same-store sales growth algorithm for three consecutive quarters and returned $435 million of capital to shareholders during the quarter. Burger King was the company’s strongest major domestic contributor in the quarter. The brand posted 8.6% comparable-sales growth and 8.2% systemwide sales growth. U.S. same-store sales increased 8.5%, outperforming the burger quick-service restaurant industry by more than nine percentage points, according to Kobza. → 4 Oil and Gas ETF Plays as Prices Stay Sky-High Burger King’s Turnaround Is Putting Restaurant Brands Back in Focus The performance followed the rollout of Burger King’s Whopper and brand-elevation campaigns, part of the company’s multiyear “Reclaim the Flame” turnaround strategy. Kobza said the company has expanded its focus to service through its “Your Way Champion” restaurant leadership role and a Whopper Guarantee that promises a replacement Whopper and another sandwich if a guest’s order does not meet standards. The company said average unit volumes for its Whopper platform have grown more than 20% since the elevation campaign began. Burger King also reported that Kids Meal average unit volumes exceeded 28 per day in the second quarter, up nearly 50% from 2022, following a Mandalorian-themed promotion. → No Hangover: Revisiting Microsoft One Week After Earnings Executive Chairman J. Patrick Doyle said the brand’s gains reflect cumulative work on operations, food, marketing, restaurant image and franchisee quality rather than a single promotion. He said the company still sees opportunities to modernize additional restaurants, improve operations and further elevate menu offerings. On refranchising, Chief Financial Officer Sami Siddiqui said Restaurant Brands began selling acquired Carrols restaurants to franchisees earlier than originally expected. While second-quarter activity was slower than anticipated, he said the pipeline of prospective buyers has more than doubled since the company’s investor day. Restaurant Brands expects to refranchise a few hundred restaurants in 2026 and the remainder in 2027, with the goal of winding down the Restaurant Holdings segment by the end of 2027. Restaurant Brands’ international business delivered 5.5% comparable-sales growth and 5.1% net restaurant growth, producing 10.7% systemwide sales growth. Kobza cited strength in Burger King markets including Germany, Spain, Brazil, China, South Korea and Japan. He said Burger King China recorded another quarter of double-digit comparable-sales growth under operator CPE, alongside sequential improvement in unit economics. The company views China as an important part of its path toward 5% net restaurant growth by 2028. The company also highlighted international Popeyes results, noting that Brazil’s Popeyes comparable sales were up more than 20% year to date, following roughly 20% growth in 2025. Firehouse Subs, meanwhile, recently launched in Australia. Siddiqui said the company’s top 10 Burger King international growth markets have average new-unit paybacks of between four and five years, with returns improving. He said that excluding China, Burger King’s international average restaurant sales are similar to those in the U.S., while paybacks in the top international growth markets are better than U.S. paybacks. Tim Hortons Canada posted comparable-sales growth of 0.1%, though Kobza said performance improved as the quarter progressed. He attributed the softer quarter in part to a calendar that did not match the prior year’s major platform launches and marketing that did not perform as expected. The company plans to support the second half with a Harry Potter-themed “Back to Hogwarts” campaign, breakfast innovation, a holiday partnership and expanded beverage offerings. Tim Hortons recently launched matcha nationally and is rolling out fountain equipment to support cold beverages such as Soda Swirls. It also plans a loyalty partnership with Canadian Tire that will allow customers to link Triangle Rewards and Tims Rewards accounts. Despite the subdued comparable-sales performance, Restaurant Brands plans approximately 80 gross Tim Hortons openings in Canada this year, compared with more than 50 last year. Kobza said the new drive-thru restaurants generally offer paybacks of less than three years. Popeyes U.S. systemwide sales declined 3.3%, as 0.3% net restaurant growth was more than offset by a 5.2% same-store sales decline. Kobza said the company is focused on improving restaurant operations and service, emphasizing core products and maintaining clear value offerings. Popeyes completed the systemwide rollout of an improved tender specification and introduced value platforms including $5 Faves, a $6 Big Box and a $20 Family Meal. Kobza said product satisfaction, guest complaints and order errors have moved in the right direction, and the company remains confident Popeyes can return to positive comparable sales in the second half of 2026. Restaurant Brands generated $501 million in free cash flow during the second quarter, including $62 million of capital expenditures and cash inducements. It repurchased $137 million of stock and said it remains on track to repurchase about $500 million of shares for the full year. The company ended the quarter with about $2.3 billion in liquidity, including $1.1 billion of cash, and net leverage of 4.1 times. Siddiqui noted that S&P upgraded the company to BB+ in May. Restaurant Brands continues to target corporate investment-grade leverage by 2028, or a low- to mid-three-times net leverage ratio. Full-year segment G&A, excluding Restaurant Holdings: $600 million to $620 million. Net adjusted interest expense: $500 million to $520 million. Capital expenditures and cash inducements: about $400 million. Adjusted effective tax rate: 18% to 19%. Foreign exchange headwind expected in the second half: about $10 million to adjusted operating income and $0.02 to $0.03 to adjusted EPS. Siddiqui said the company remains on track to deliver 8% organic adjusted operating income growth in 2026. Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE: QSR) is a global quick-service restaurant company formed through the combination of established brands. The company's principal holdings include Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, each of which operates under its own brand identity and menu. Restaurant Brands International's business is centered on developing and expanding these franchised restaurant systems, supporting franchisees with brand management, supply chain coordination, and marketing programs. RBI's restaurants offer a range of quick-service food and beverage products: Burger King is known for its flame-grilled hamburgers and sandwiches, Tim Hortons for coffee, baked goods and breakfast items, and Popeyes for Louisiana-style fried chicken and seafood. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Restaurant Brands International Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Burger King U.S. outperformed the burger QSR industry by over 9 points, driven by the 'Reclaim the Flame' elevation strategy and Whopper-centric marketing. The International segment remains a primary growth engine, delivering its 21st consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales through localized innovation and Michelin-chef collaborations. Tim Hortons Canada experienced flat performance due to a marketing calendar that failed to lap prior-year major platform launches, though momentum improved late in the quarter. Management attributes consolidated strength to a diversified portfolio where different brand life cycles balance each other to deliver durable top-line and earnings growth. Operational improvements at Burger King, including the 'Your Way Champion' service initiative, are converting long-term investments into measurable guest behavior changes. Popeyes U.S. faced sales softness but is executing a recovery plan focused on core menu quality, such as improved tender specs, and consistent value platforms. Management reiterated its 2026 financial guidance, targeting 8% organic adjusted operating income growth and progress toward a 5% net restaurant growth algorithm by 2028. Tim Hortons is pivoting to a high-impact back-half calendar featuring a Harry Potter partnership and a new loyalty integration with Canadian Tire's Triangle Rewards. The company expects to achieve corporate investment-grade leverage (low to mid-3x range) by 2028, supported by a recent S&P ratings upgrade to BB+. Burger King U.S. will continue its multi-year elevation roadmap with upcoming chapters focused on further culinary improvements and restaurant image modernization. Guidance for the second half of 2026 includes an estimated $10 million AOI headwind due to U.S. dollar appreciation and currency market volatility. The Restaurant Holdings (RH) segment is expected to contribute $10 million to $20 million in AOI, impacted by Carrols refranchising costs and persistent beef inflation. Beef costs reached all-time highs in Q2, though management anticipates potential relief in late 2026 and into 2027 based on futures market trends. The company is accelerating the sunsetting of the RH segment, with plans to refranchise several hundred Carrols restaurants through 2026 and 2027. International start-up investments will continue to impact margins until ownership is transitioned to local partners in emerging markets. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management believes they are still early in the journey, with significant tailwinds remaining from the multi-year remodel cycle and upcoming menu elevation chapters. Growth is being driven by fundamental operational improvements rather than temporary promotions, with Whopper platform AUVs up over 20% since the elevation launch. Management dismissed concerns about new market entrants, noting that the Canadian foodservice market remains stable with 3% growth and that Tims maintains #1 brand trust. The launch of Matcha and the systematic rollout of new fountain equipment are designed to capture the high-growth cold beverage and afternoon dayparts. Top 10 international growth markets are delivering attractive paybacks between 4 and 5 years, which supports the path to 5% net restaurant growth. Excluding China, international Burger King AUVs are comparable to U.S. levels, with superior payback profiles in markets like France, Spain, and Japan. Management expressed confidence in returning to positive comparable sales in the second half of 2026 as value platforms like the $5 phase platform and $6 big box help support traffic and serve additional occasions. Field team expansion is beginning to yield results in product satisfaction and reduced guest complaint rates, though operational consistency takes longer to realize than marketing shifts.