Restaurant Brands International Reports Q2 Earnings That Beat Expectations, Fueled by Burger King Growth

Restaurant Brands International on Thursday reported quarterly earnings that topped analysts' expectations, fueled by strong growth for the once-struggling Burger King, both domestically and abroad.

"Burger King's performance is a great example of what's possible when you invest in the fundamentals and execute well – an approach we're applying across all of our brands," Restaurant Brands CEO Josh Kobza said in a statement.

But shares of Restaurant Brands fell more than 1% in morning trading as the results showed its other chains struggling.

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

Earnings per share: $1.07 adjusted vs. $1.03 expected

Revenue: $2.52 billion, in line with expectations

Restaurant Brands reported second-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of $507 million, or $1.45 per share, up from $189 million, or 57 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding transaction costs, advisory fees and other items, the company earned $1.07 per share.

Net revenue rose 4.5% to $2.52 billion.

Burger King's U.S. same-store sales climbed 8.5%. In recent quarters, the burger chain's turnaround has taken hold in its home market. Restaurant renovations, sharper marketing, and a focus on core menu items like the Whopper have helped Burger King steal market share.

Rival McDonald's reported U.S. same-store sales growth of just 0.8% in its second quarter, for comparison. Executives said that they were disappointed by the performance, and McDonald's tapped a new U.S. president to help accelerate its sales. Some of its issues resulted from frequent shuffling of its value offerings; Burger King U.S. President Tom Curtis told CNBC that Burger King has benefited from its consistent deal offerings, like its $5 duos and $7 trios.

Still, executives said that there is more room for improvement for Burger King. The chain has further plans to improve its menu after upgrading the Whopper earlier this year, and not all of its U.S. restaurants have been remodeled yet. Restaurant renovations could accelerate if beef prices fall, Curtis said.

Burger King is also seeing strong results outside of the U.S. Restaurant Brands said international Burger King restaurants saw same-store sales growth of 5.4% during the quarter.

But the rest of Restaurant Brands' chains did not fare as well.

Tim Hortons' same-store sales in Canada and overall were essentially flat for the quarter.

"Taking a step back, while our marketing did not perform as anticipated in Q2, we were encouraged by stronger business performance [at the chain] as the quarter progressed and are excited about the back half calendar," Kobza said on the company's earnings conference call.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen reported U.S. same-store sales declines of 5.2%. The fried chicken chain has struggled in recent quarters as more restaurants compete for a smaller pool of diners, who have grown increasingly value conscious.

"While sales remained soft during the quarter, we're encouraged by the improvement we saw and continue to execute against the same priorities," Kobza said, adding that he expects that Popeyes same-store sales will start growing again in the second half of the year.