Momentum could slow for these leaders

Article Excerpt

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $60.36 (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.rbi.com; Shares outstanding: 478.0 million; Market cap: $28.9 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%) is the world’s third-largest fast-food operator after McDonald’s (No. 1) and Yum Brands (No. 2). It has 16,000 Burger King outlets and 4,655 Tim Hortons stores, in 100 countries. More recently, Restaurant Brands bought Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and its 2,768 stores, for $1.64 billion. In the three months ended June 30, 2017, the company’s overall sales rose 8.9%, to $1.13 billion from $1.04 billion a year earlier. However, that growth came mostly from new restaurants: Tim Hortons’ same-store sales fell 0.8% and Popeyes’ dropped 2.7%; Burger King’s same-store sales rose just 3.9%. Thanks to more savings from the December 2014 merger of Tim Hortons and Burger King, the company earned $241.7 million, or $0.51 a share in the quarter. That’s a 25.6% jump from $192.4 million, or $0.41, a year earlier. Restaurant Brands holds cash of $3.4 billion, or $7.11…