Restaurant Brands bounces back from pandemic closures

Article Excerpt

Restaurant Brands’ stock now trades at pre-pandemic levels. That includes its 116% bounce back from the bottom of the recent downturn. Despite those gains, we see even more growth ahead for our subscribers. RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $54.45 is a buy. The company (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (www.rbi.com; Shares outstanding: 478.0 million; Market cap: $26.0 billion; Dividend yield: 3.8%) gives you exposure to the world’s third-largest fast-food operator. That’s after McDonald’s (No. 1) and Yum Brands (No. 2). The company has 27,059 outlets in over 100 countries: 18,756 Burger King, 4,934 Tim Hortons (coffee and donuts), and 3,369 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (fried chicken). The fast-food giant had to shut down most of its restaurants due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it has now re-opened 93% of its outlets. Due to the shutdowns, Restaurant Brands’ overall sales in the quarter ended June 30, 2020, fell 25.1%, to $1.05 billion from $1.40 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales fell 29.3% at Tim Hortons and 13.4% at…