Restaurant Brands reports strong sales at Burger King, Popeyes

·Reporter

Updated 2 August 2019 at 6:35 am

RICHMOND HEIGHTS, MO - APRIL 01: In this photo illustration, an 'Impossible Whopper' sits on a table at a Burger King restaurant on April 1, 2019 in Richmond Heights, Missouri. Burger King announced on Monday that it is testing out Impossible Whoppers, made with plant-based patties from Impossible Foods, in 59 locations in and around St. Louis area. (Photo Illustration by Michael Thomas/Getty Images) — A Burger King 'Impossible Whopper.' (Photo Illustration by Michael Thomas/Getty Images)

Restaurant Brands International (QSR) posted better-than-expected sales at Burger King and Popeyes during the second quarter.

Here are the numbers for Restaurant Brands’ second quarter, compared to Bloomberg-compiled estimates:

Revenue: $1.4 billion vs. $1.39 billion expected
Adj. EPS: 71 cents vs. 67 cents expected
Burger King same-store sales: +3.6% vs. +2.1% expected
Popeyes same-store sales: +3% vs. +0.8% expected
Tim Hortons same-store sales: +0.5% vs. +1% expected

"We are excited by the tremendous opportunity for restaurant growth in front of us, most recently highlighted by new partnerships we announced for Popeyes in China and Spain, and Tim Hortons in Thailand," CEO Jose Cil said in a statement. "We are working closely with our restaurant owners to deliver an enhanced guest experience including technology like delivery, kiosks and outdoor digital menu boards.”

The alternative-meat craze is hot, and Restaurant Brands jumped on the bandwagon. After a successful test period in its St. Louis stores, Burger King announced that it would be launching the “Impossible Whopper” nationwide in all 7,300 stores on Aug. 8. Additionally, in July, Tim Hortons added two new Beyond Meat (BYND) burgers across all of the stores in Canada. The Canadian coffee chain already had Beyond Meat breakfast items on its menus.

Investors and analysts seem to think that the alternative-meat initiatives at Restaurant Brands will boost its business. “We do believe that the plant-based protein launches will provide a sales lift for the brands at least over the next several quarters,” Wells Fargo analyst Jon Tower wrote in a note to clients July 21.

Restaurant Brands stock has been on fire this year, jumping 41% as of Thursday’s close. McDonald’s (MCD) rose 20%, while Yum Brands (YUM) is up 28% in the same time period.

The conference call with management kicks off at 8:30 a.m. ET.

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Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.

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