Popeyes’ domestic sales took a hit last quarter, completing a surprisingly difficult year for the fast-food chicken chain.
The brand’s same-store sales declined 4.9% in the U.S., parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI) said on Thursday. It was the fourth straight quarterly decline and the fifth of the past six periods.
Sister chain Burger King’s U.S. same-store sales rose 2.6%, largely on the back of a successful Spongebob Movie promotion in December. It was the third straight quarter of growth for the burger chain, which is in the midst of a turnaround.
At Tim Hortons Canada, same-store sales rose 2.8%, RBI said, continuing that chain’s generally healthy performance. Firehouse Subs’ same-store sales rose 2.4%.
But RBI’s international business continues to cook. Same-store sales for the company’s brands outside of the U.S. and Canada increased 6.1%, the company said.
Revenues at RBI rose 7.4% to $2.5 billion. Net income declined 24% to $274 million, or 60 cents per share. The company’s stock was up more than 1% in pre-market trading on Thursday.
Popeyes’ domestic business has taken a hit over the past year, prompting the company to overhaul much of the brand’s management team. Peter Perdue was named the brand’s president, which was followed by several changes in the chain’s senior leadership team. Amid this, a large franchisee, Sailormen, filed for bankruptcy.
“We’ve had weaker performance than we’d like over the last few quarters, and that’s why you saw us make the change in leadership,” RBI CEO Josh Kobza told analysts on Thursday. “I think Peter is exactly the right person for what we need to do, and I’m super confident in both what he’s already starting to do and where he wants to take the brand.”
Each of the chains are operating in one of the industry’s most challenging environments, as lower-income consumers have cut back on the frequency of their dining and find fast-food prices more onerous after years of inflation.
The results have interrupted the comeback of Burger King, which has largely outpaced the sector for the past several quarters. The Spongebob promotion blew past the brand’s most aggressive projections.
RBI executives said that Burger King’s momentum continued into January, noting that operations improvements the brand has made are taking hold. “I think we’re ready to take this business to the next level and really elevate the brand based on the work that wee’ve done in the fundamentals,” Kobza said.
Franchisee profitability at RBI’s brands took a hit, with Popeyes, Burger King and Tim Hortons all seeing weaker cashflow in 2025. Firehouse Subs' profitability improved by 11% while Burger King’s declined by nearly 10%.
Executives blamed the profitability decline at Burger King on beef costs, which rose 20% last year, raising commodity costs as a whole for the brand up 7%. Without that increase, executives said, profitability would have been flat.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to add information from the company’s earnings call. It has also been updated to remove an incorrect reference to Popeyes global same-store sales.
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