Restaurant Brands International Q2 Systemwide Sales Top $10 Billion as International Markets Accelerate

This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on August 10, 2022.

Restaurant Brands International (RBI), parent company of Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, reported Q2 2022 systemwide sales of more than $10 billion on August 4, up 14% year on year.

For scale, Yum China’s full-year 2021 revenue across KFC, Pizza Hut and other brands was $9.58 billion. With roughly 85% company-operated stores, FoodBud estimated Yum China’s systemwide sales including franchised stores at around $10 billion.

Q2 2022 Snapshot

RBI’s digital channel sales exceeded $3 billion in the quarter, accounting for 33% of total systemwide sales. Revenue was $1.64 billion, and net income was $350 million.

As of June 30, 2022, RBI’s total restaurant count across Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Firehouse reached 29,747 units. Nearly all stores were franchised.

Burger King had 19,311 restaurants globally, with net restaurant growth of 2.8% in Q2. Tim Hortons reached 5,352 restaurants, with net restaurant growth of 5.7%.

China Franchise Dispute

At the start of 2022, RBI held talks with TFI, the China franchisee for Burger King and Popeyes. RBI agreed to pay $100 million to resolve commercial disputes. FoodBud noted that most of the payment was tied to resolving Popeyes’ continued development issues in China, as RBI sought a new franchise partner for the brand.

Tim Hortons: Brand Modernization and Beverage Mix

Among RBI’s brands, Tim Hortons posted the strongest revenue growth in Q2.

The chain was testing operating and brand strategies, including modernization. In Q2, it partnered with singer Justin Bieber on Tim Biebs, a co-branded product line designed by Bieber, aimed at attracting younger and more digitally engaged guests.

Tim Hortons also saw strong demand for cold and specialty beverages and was upgrading cold beverage production equipment in stores. Compared with the same period in 2019, cold beverage sales grew by double digits, around 12%.

Internationally, Tim Hortons was accelerating development in the Middle East, Mexico and the United Kingdom, while also seeing rapid growth opportunities in China.

Burger King: Strong International Recovery Outside China

Burger King delivered strong international growth in Q2, with systemwide sales up 28% year on year. Since Q4 2021, Burger King’s international business outside China had significantly exceeded pre-pandemic sales levels.

Its four largest markets, France, Spain, Germany and Brazil, all posted double-digit growth and together contributed more than $1.2 billion in systemwide sales during Q2.