Restaurant Brands earnings beats estimates, fueled by Tim Hortons’ and Burger King’s strong sales

Restaurant Brands International on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations, fueled by double-digit same-store sales growth at Tim Hortons and Burger King.

Shares of the company were flat in premarket trading.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: 75 cents adjusted vs. 64 cents expected
• Revenue: $1.59 billion vs. $1.56 billion expected

Restaurant Brands reported first-quarter net income of $277 million, or 61 cents per share, up from $270 million, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 75 cents per share.

Net sales rose 9.6% to $1.59 billion. The company’s same-store sales grew 10.3% in the quarter, fueled by double-digit growth at Burger King and Tim Hortons.

Burger King’s same-store sales rose 12.3%, beating StreetAccount estimates of 6.8%. In the U.S., the burger chain’s same-store sales increased 8.7%, an early sign that its domestic turnaround is taking hold.

In April, Burger King U.S. President Tom Curtis told CNBC that the chain is selling more Whoppers than it ever has before, thanks to its new advertising campaign and a Whopper-themed jingle that went viral on TikTok.

Tim Hortons’ same-store sales climbed 13.8%, topping StreetAccount estimates of 10.1%. In Canada, its home market, it reported same-store sales growth of 15.5%.

The Canadian coffee chain underwent its own turnaround in recent years to revive sales in its home market. Restaurant Brands revamped Tims’ menu and loyalty program and upgraded its coffee-brewing equipment. Its mobile app is now the number two e-commerce app in Canada, trailing only Amazon, Restaurant Brands CEO Josh Kobza told CNBC.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen reported same-store sales growth of 5.6%, topping StreetAccount estimates of 4%. A year earlier, it reported same-store sales declined 3%. In January, the fried chicken chain brought back Ghost Pepper Wings for the first time in three years and sold out of the item in just two weeks. The chicken wings returned to menus on Monday.

Firehouse Subs, the latest addition to Restaurant Brands’ portfolio, saw its same-store sales rise 6.1% in the quarter.