Acquisition spurs RBI’s sales

Article Excerpt

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. $97 is a buy for aggressive investors. The fast-food operator (Toronto symbol QSR, High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 452.0 million; Market cap: $43.8 billion; Dividend yield: 3.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.rbi.com) will raise your quarterly dividend by 6.9% with the April 2025 payment. The new annual rate of $2.48 U.S. yields 3.6%. In 2024, the company spent $974 million to acquire the 85% of Carrols Restaurant Group—the largest Burger King franchisee in the U.S.—that it didn’t already own (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). As a result, overall sales in the quarter ended December 31, 2024, rose 26.4%, to $2.30 billion from $1.82 billion a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, earnings rose 8.5%, to $369 million, or $0.81 a share, from $340 million, or $0.75. Restaurant Brands is still a buy. buy. …