Oct 29, 2026 earnings call — Brand results, unit growth and international expansion
System-wide sales grew 6.2% in Q3, driven by 3.8% comparable sales and 3% net restaurant growth.
Revenue $2.5B (est $2.5B) · EPS $1.10 (est $1.08)
Key quotes
"we're still probably around 60% of the system done. So we've got a number of years in front of us and a lot of stores that still need to get to the right image there."
"Across the international business, our local teams are finding new ways to bring guests into our restaurants, from twists on our flame grilled beef offerings to new chicken innovation."
"We're supporting our restaurant owners with speed-of-service coaching, greater visibility into restaurant cleanliness and simpler processes so teams can deliver an even better guest experience."
Analyst Q&A 12
Burger King momentum and next steps
Q (Dennis Geiger · UBS): Analyst asked what biggest opportunities remain for Burger King in the U.S., medium-term into 2027 and beyond, including remodels, operations and daypart focus.
A: Management said momentum is underpinned by consistent improvements and multiple years of work remain. They highlighted remodels (about 60% done), ongoing ops improvements, and further menu elevations that will stretch into 2028 and beyond.
"I'll tell you, those are going to stretch well into 2028 and beyond." — Joshua Kobza (CEO)
International markets and market share
Q (David Palmer · Evercore): Analyst asked how international markets are shifting and effects on market share and key initiatives for BK International and Tim Hortons in Canada.
A: Management said the international environment is mostly stable, with Asia a bit better and some headwinds in Western Europe. They called out much better China performance and strong momentum at Popeyes international, and said they are taking share in markets like France, Japan and Korea; Canada is relatively stable with some impact from higher gas prices in rural drive-thru markets.
"One, our China business has been getting an awful lot better." — Joshua Kobza (CEO)
AUV upside and remodel timing
Q (Brian Bittner · Oppenheimer): Analyst asked about upside to Burger King AUVs from current levels and whether remodel timeline might be extended.
A: Management said remodels drive big uplifts and moving from ~60% remodeled toward 85%+ will be a big driver; remodeled sizzle restaurants do north of $2 million AUVs. They noted beef inflation slowed profitability but expect some relief next year, which should speed remodel pace and target most of system to a modern image by 2028, 2029.
"We know those remodeled restaurants, especially the sizzles are doing north of $2 million." — Joshua Kobza (CEO)
Tim Hortons performance and dayparts
Q (Danilo Gargiulo · Bernstein): Analyst asked how Tim Hortons performed vs expectations, which dayparts outperformed, and where more opportunity exists.
A: Management said Tim Hortons was roughly in line with peers and improved from Q2, with growth across all dayparts. They highlighted stronger PM food performance sequentially, and said future focus will be on cold beverages and PM food innovation, including bringing back and improving guest favorites into 2027.
"If you look across dayparts, we grew across all day parts." — Joshua Kobza (CEO)
Unit growth and franchisee appetite
Q (Lauren Silberman · Deutsche Bank): Analyst asked about unit growth outlook for end of 2026 and into 2027, franchisee sentiment, and brand/market color.
A: Management said trailing unit growth accelerated to around 3% and Q4 is back-end weighted with many restaurant openings. They said paybacks in top growth markets are improving (around 4.5 years and ticking down), Tim's and Firehouse prospects look good, and Popeyes growth may be a bit softer; franchisees are engaged and profitability/paybacks drive development.
Sharing international ideas to the U.S.
Q (John Ivankoe · JPMorgan): Analyst asked if specific winning ideas from international markets could be brought to the U.S. and whether any examples are coming soon.
A: Management said they let ideas bubble up from master franchisees and share them choicefully, adapting to local markets. They gave examples like the gourmet series, bigger patty burgers, sliders from France, and sauce innovations, and said to stay tuned for possible U.S. rollouts in 2027.
"A couple of the ones that we've done in recent years are things like our gourmet series, some of our bigger patty burgers." — Joshua Kobza (CEO)
Tim Hortons speed of service and growth ceiling
Q (Sara Senatore · BofA): Analyst asked if Tim Hortons' operational focus on speed and friendliness comes from customer feedback or continuous improvement, and what is the growth ceiling for Tim's given its EBITDA weight.
A: Management said Axel and the team constantly look to get better by listening to guests and observing restaurants, so it's both feedback and continuous improvement. They said there is room for more Tim's across Canada, they aim to grow above the ~2% same-store level by expanding cold beverages, PM food, and U.S. expansion, and real estate and CPG businesses also support returns.
"we're always listening to guests, but also observing things as we spend a lot of time in the restaurants ourselves as we can tell." — Joshua Kobza (CEO)
Effect of refranchising and cannibalization
Q (Gregory Francfort · Guggenheim): Analyst asked if refranchising or absorbing restaurants will push profit growth below 8%, and whether Tim's unit growth will be cannibalistic.
A: Management said year-to-date growth is around 8% and refranchising impacts RH separately; sunsetting RH end of 2027 will bring 300 to 500 restaurants into the core P&L (likely toward the lower end) which will affect results when absorbed in 2028. On Tim's growth, they model cannibalization carefully for new developments and aim to site units where returns and franchisee economics make sense.
"we anticipate that will be between 300 and 500 restaurants when we absorb it into the P&L, probably getting towards the lower end of that range." — Sami Siddiqui (CFO)
International AOI flow-through and one-time items
Q (Andrew Charles · TD Cowen): Analyst asked why international AOI flow-through lagged in Q3 and whether one-time items or lower-royalty markets drove it.
A: Management said International continues 22 quarters of positive same-store sales and strong market share gains. They explained Q3 flow-through had some one-time noise, including about $10 million of G&A increases across the consolidated business, about half of which were onetime legal expenses concentrated in international and not expected to recur.
"About half of that was due to some onetime expenses, legal expenses that were concentrated in our international business." — Sami Siddiqui (CFO)
Canada recent trends and drivers at Tim's
Q (Christopher O'Cull · Baird): Analyst asked if October softness in the U.S. showed up in Canada and what drove Tim Hortons' same-store sales pickup and confidence it continues.
A: Management said Canada performance has been stable recently with nothing new to call out. They said key drivers were cold beverages like Matcha (which brings younger, more female and afternoon guests and peaks on weekends) and energy infusers with Monster, plus improved food offerings returning to growth through the year.
"Interesting thing we've realized with Matcha, it peaks on the weekend." — Joshua Kobza (CEO)
IP collaborations and bringing back lapsed guests
Q (Brian Harbour · Morgan Stanley): Analyst asked the philosophy on IP collaborations, whether they bring back lapsed users, and if the pace will be maintained.
A: Management said collaborations must have brand fit and multigenerational appeal, and Burger King has been thoughtful on menu, packaging and execution. They said collaborations bring people back, and importantly retention and revisit rates have improved, showing operations improvements lead to repeat visits; family-focused initiatives like King Jr. can drive long-term returns.
"One, we're bringing a bunch of people back to the restaurant." — Joshua Kobza (CEO)
Popeyes international unit growth role
Q (Christopher Carril · KeyBanc): Analyst asked to clarify Popeyes unit growth outlook and how Popeyes international will contribute to medium/long-term unit growth.
A: Management clarified the near-term North America Popeyes unit growth will decelerate a bit, while Popeyes International has been an incredible growth story with system sales up materially to around $2 billion. They said international markets (U.K., India, China, Brazil, Central Europe) are strong, 4-wall margins and paybacks improving, and Popeyes International will be a growing contributor to net restaurant growth and the path to 5% unit growth.
"this was our first quarter where we saw positive 4-wall margins, and we're starting to see paybacks in that business get a lot better." — Sami Siddiqui (CFO)