Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE:QSR) stock fell 1.91% (As on August 9, 11:55:33 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company reported double-digit same-store sales growth at Burger King and Tim Hortons for its second quarter. Restaurant Brands announced second-quarter net income of $351 million, up from $346 million, a year earlier.  Restaurant Brands’ same-store sales climbed 9.6% in the quarter, driven by strong growth at Tim Hortons and Burger King. The company’s international markets and Tims’ locations in Canada saw customer visits increase during the quarter. However, U.S. traffic ranged from flat to “a little bit negative” across Popeyes, Burger King and Firehouse Subs. Tim Hortons, which accounts for more than half of Restaurant Brands’ revenue, reported same-store sales growth of 11.4%, topping StreetAccount estimates of 6.5%. The coffee chain’s same-store sales climbed 12.5% in its Canadian home market.

Moreover, recent menu launches at Tims have included its BBQ Crispy Chicken bowl and Sparkling Quenchers, which both aim to draw in more customers in the afternoon. Burger King’s same-store sales rose 10.2%, beating estimates of 5.3%. In the United States, where the company is trying to reinvigorate the brand, the burger chain’s same-store sales increased 8.3%. Restaurant Brands spent $10 million on advertising for Burger King in the U.S. during the quarter. The company also invested $11 million in restaurant upgrades, including renovations. Restaurant Brands plans to spend $400 million on Burger King’s comeback in its home market over the course of the turnaround.

Further, much of Burger King’s U.S. marketing has focused on the Whopper, its signature menu item. Kobza said the chain’s Spider-Verse Whopper, tied to the release of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” drove new, younger customers to its restaurants to buy the burger. Popeyes saw same-store sales growth of 6.3%, topping expectations of 3.5%. Firehouse Subs, the most recent addition to Restaurant Brands’ portfolio, reported same-store sales growth of 2.1%.

QSR in the second quarter of FY 23 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 85 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 77 cents, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 8.3 percent to $1.78 billion in the second quarter of FY 23, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $1.75 billion. As of June 30, 2023, total debt was $13.3 billion, net debt (total debt less cash and cash equivalents of $1.2 billion) was $12.1 billion, net income net leverage was 8.1x and Adjusted EBITDA net leverage was 4.9x.

The company has declared a dividend of $0.55 per common share and partnership exchangeable unit of Restaurant Brands International Limited Partnership for the second quarter of 2023. The dividend will be payable on October 4, 2023 to shareholders and unit holders of record at the close of business on September 20, 2023.