Don't expect $1 Whoppers from Burger King anytime soon

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Restaurant Brands CEO José Cil says don’t expect $1 Whoppers to return to the Burger King menu as raging inflation leads U.S. consumers to demand more value.

After years of heavy couponing, Cil told Yahoo Finance Live in February that he is looking to bring back the Whopper as the industry’s most iconic hamburger and price the product at a premium. Some six months later, he’s sticking to that plan.

“No,” Cil told Yahoo Finance Live on Thursday (video above) when asked if the well-known burger would be discounted as in years past. “We have a $5 Have It Your Way meal, which features a Whopper Jr. We think that’s an amazing value and have seen a good response from our guests.”

Despite economic stresses weighing on lower-income consumers, Restaurant Brands’ solid second quarter suggests it may not need to discount aggressively in the near term.

Same-store sales rose 12.2% at Tim Hortons on the back of new menu items like food bowls in Canada, 10% at Burger King due to overseas momentum, and 1.4% at Popeyes. Sales at all three fast-food chains beat Wall Street analyst estimates handily.

Here is how Restaurant Brands performed in the second quarter compared to Wall Street estimates:

  • Net Sales: $1.64 billion vs. $1.57 billion

  • Diluted EPS: $0.82 vs. $0.73

Shares of Restaurant Brands rose nearly 7% to $58.68 as of 1:27 p.m. ET in Thursday’s session as investors cheered the strong sales gains overseas.

“Unit growth and Tim Horton’s Canada are the two larger storylines with upside unlock potential, and no significant improvement in the BK US business is necessary to drive the stock,” David Palmer, restaurant analyst at Evercore ISI, said in a flash note to clients.

Palmer reiterated an outperform rating on Restaurant Brands with a $75 price target.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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