How do you win in a market like this? If you’re Burger King, you apparently let your customers make a burger.
Burger King’s U.S. same-store sales rose 3.2% in the third quarter, its best performance since early 2024, parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI) said on Thursday. The improvement came during an otherwise difficult market for the fast-food sector.
The performance came during a period in which the company introduced a “Whopper by You” platform in which the company invited customers to create versions of its signature burger. The company sold a BBQ Brisket Whopper during the quarter as well as a Crispy Onion Whopper. Both "exceeded expectations," executives said on Thursday.
Company executives said that Burger King is also getting more families into the restaurants as well as more women and younger consumers with its Whopper Jr. platform. But executives also noted that beef costs are up in the double digits this year in the U.S., hurting operator profitability.
At Tim Hortons in Canada, same-store sales rose 4.2% in the period, continuing a generally strong period for the coffee-and-doughnut chain.
But same-store sales at the chicken chain Popeyes fell 2%. That’s the third straight quarter of declines for the brand, and fourth of the past five. "Popeyes has some work to do," RBI Executive Chairman Patrick Doyle told analysts on Thursday. "The performance is not where it should be."
Same-store sales at the sandwich chain Firehouse Subs rose 2.5% in the period.
Internationally, same-store sales at RBI’s brands rose 6.5%, including 6.4% for its flagship Burger King. The company operates 15,907 locations of its various brands outside the U.S. and Canada.
All told, RBI’s brands internationally and in the U.S. rose 4% collectively.
Revenues rose 6.9% to $2.45 billion. Net income rose 23% to $440 million, or 96 cents per share.
RBI shares were up 4.5% in pre-market trading on Thursday.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to add information from the company's earnings call.
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