Burger King and Tim Hortons parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR ) posted better than expected fourth quarter earnings results on Monday Feb 13, 2017 | 7:00am |, with both profit and sales beating expectations.

Written by StockNews.com

The Oakville, Ontario, Canada-based quick service restaurant operator reported adjusted Q4 EPS of $0.44, which was $0.02 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.42. Revenues rose 5.1% from last year to $1.11 billion, also topping analysts’ view for $1.1 billion.

QSR noted that Tim Horton’s comparable sales (comps) gained 0.2% in the latest period, while Burger King comps rose 2.8% on a constant currency basis. Comparable sales are considered a key indicator of a retailer’s health, since they measure only the performance of stores open at least 12 months.

Restaurant Brands also said that system-wide sales grew 2.4% at Tim Hortons’ and 8.5% at Burger King in constant currency.

The company commented via press release:

“We are pleased to report another year of solid results, with strong financial performance in the fourth quarter. Our continued focus on guest satisfaction and value creation for all of our stakeholders has resulted in accelerated restaurant development and continued system-wide sales growth at both of our iconic brands, TIM HORTONS® and BURGER KING®. We are excited about our progress this year and are committed to building on these results to achieve long-term sustainable growth.”

...Year-to-date, QSR has gained 7.89%, versus a 3.57% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

QSR currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #3 of 54 stocks in the Restaurants category.