Restaurant Brands International (QSR) Stock Price & How to Invest

Restaurant Brands International Inc. was created in 2014 when Burger King and Tim Hortons combined under 3G Capital's sponsorship, and it has since added Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (2017) and Firehouse Subs (2021). As of June 30, 2026 it described itself as one of the world's largest quick-service restaurant companies, with nearly ~$49 billion of annual system-wide sales and ~33,156 restaurants in more than 120 countries, over ~95% of them franchised. The company reports six segments: four home-market franchisor segments (TH, BK, PLK and FHS covering the US and Canada), a fifth franchisor segment (INTL) for every brand everywhere else, and a sixth, Restaurant Holdings (RH), which holds the company-operated Burger King restaurants picked up in the 2024 Carrols Restaurant Group acquisition plus Popeyes China and Firehouse Subs Brazil. RH exists to be wound down: management intends to refranchise the vast majority of the Carrols restaurants and find partners for the other two, then sunset the segment. A related simplification already happened in January 2026, when RBI put Burger King China into a joint venture with CPE, which invested ~$350 million of primary capital, leaving RBI with a ~17% equity stake and royalty revenue inside INTL instead of a consolidated operating business.

The reported revenue line flatters the size of the operating footprint and understates how asset-light the core is. Of ~$2.52 billion of second-quarter 2026 revenue, ~$788 million was Tim Hortons supply chain distribution in Canada and several hundred million more was company-operated restaurant sales at RH, both low-margin pass-through activity, while the royalty and property streams that actually drive segment profit are far smaller and far more profitable. Trailing twelve-month revenue was ~$9.70 billion, up from ~$9.43 billion in fiscal 2025 and ~$8.41 billion in fiscal 2024, and adjusted EBITDA over the twelve months to June 30, 2026 was ~$3.08 billion. At ~$80.86 per share in mid-August 2026, near the top of a ~$61.33 to ~$81.96 fifty-two-week range, the fully-exchanged equity is worth about ~$36.8 billion, and adding ~$12.55 billion of net debt puts enterprise value near ~$49 billion, roughly ~16x trailing adjusted EBITDA and ~20x trailing earnings per share of ~$3.71. The debate embedded in that price is whether Burger King's ~8.5% US comparable-sales quarter is a durable brand recovery or a favourable comparison against a weak 2025, and whether Tim Hortons and Popeyes can stop leaking share while the international system compounds at double digits.

Two of the four brands are going backwards in their home markets: Popeyes comparable sales fell ~5.1% in the quarter (~-5.2% in the US) and its segment adjusted operating income slipped to ~$63 million from ~$66 million, while Tim Hortons comparable sales were ~0.1% (~0.1% in Canada) even though TH is still the largest single AOI contributor at ~$287 million, so the group's growth depends heavily on Burger King's momentum persisting against tougher comparisons. Leverage is real rather than nominal: ~$13.61 billion of total debt against ~$1.06 billion of cash leaves ~$12.55 billion net and ~4.1x adjusted EBITDA, which makes interest expense a meaningful claim on cash flow and reduces flexibility if system-wide sales stall. Because over ~95% of restaurants are franchised, franchisee profitability is effectively the credit quality of the revenue base, and commodity inflation, tariffs, labour costs and weak low-income consumer spending hit those operators before they show up in RBI's royalties. Reported results also swing with currency, since RBI reports in US dollars while collecting a large share of sales in Canadian dollars, euros, sterling and dozens of emerging-market currencies. Two legal matters are outstanding and disclosed: an antitrust class action by former Burger King employees over the old no-poach clause in the standard franchise agreement, pending in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where court-ordered mediation reached an impasse in March 2026, and a Delaware Court of Chancery suit by former Carrols shareholders over the 2024 acquisition, where the parties reached an agreement-in-principle to settle in July 2026 subject to court approval. Finally, the trailing tax rate benefited from discrete items tied to intra-group reorganisations, partly offset by OECD global minimum tax guidance, so trailing GAAP earnings per share of ~$3.71 flatter the run rate relative to adjusted diluted EPS of ~$1.93 for the first half.

23 analysts publish price targets on QSR, averaging $85.65 against a $80.86 price as of August 2026, or +5.9%. The published targets run from $78.00 to $104.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 17 buy, 9 hold, 1 sell. Over the last six months there have been 7 raises and 5 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full QSR forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Restaurant Brands International. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Burger King US is doing the heavy lifting again. Burger King's home-market segment posted ~8.6% comparable sales in the second quarter of 2026, with the US at ~8.5%, against just ~1.3% a year earlier, and segment adjusted operating income rose ~13% to ~$137 million on ~$397 million of revenue. The most optimistic published target, $104.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Two of the four brands are going backwards in their home markets: Popeyes comparable sales fell ~5.1% in the quarter (~-5.2% in the US) and its segment adjusted operating income slipped to ~$63 million from ~$66 million, while Tim Hortons comparable sales were ~0.1% (~0.1% in Canada) even though TH is still the largest single AOI contributor at ~$287 million, so the group's growth depends heavily on Burger King's momentum persisting against tougher comparisons. The most pessimistic target, $78.00, is roughly what QSR is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on QSR, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Restaurant Brands International's investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$9.70 billion for the twelve months to June 30, 2026, versus ~$9.43 billion in fiscal 2025 and ~$8.41 billion in fiscal 2024; second-quarter revenue ~$2.52 billion, up ~4.6% from ~$2.41 billion
• Earnings: Q2 2026 income from operations ~$716 million (up ~48%), net income from continuing operations ~$665 million, diluted EPS from continuing operations ~$1.45 versus ~$0.58; adjusted diluted EPS ~$1.07, up ~12.9%. First half: ~$1,110 million net income from continuing operations, ~$2.42 diluted EPS, ~$1.93 adjusted EPS. Trailing GAAP EPS ~$3.71
• System scale and same-store sales: ~33,156 restaurants and ~$12.70 billion of Q2 system-wide sales (up ~6.4% in constant currency), nearly ~$49 billion annualised; consolidated comparable sales ~3.8% and net restaurant growth ~2.9%. By segment: BK ~8.6%, INTL ~5.5%, FHS ~0.4%, TH ~0.1%, PLK ~-5.1%
• Segment profitability: Q2 adjusted operating income ~$715 million and adjusted EBITDA ~$810 million: TH ~$287 million on ~$1,137 million of revenue, INTL ~$194 million on ~$274 million, BK ~$137 million on ~$397 million, PLK ~$63 million on ~$199 million, FHS ~$17 million on ~$62 million. Organic AOI growth ~6.7% in the quarter and ~8.5% for the first half, against ~8%+ full-year guidance
• Cash generation and balance sheet: Trailing free cash flow ~$1.63 billion (operating cash flow ~$1.90 billion less ~$272 million of capital expenditure), a free-cash-flow yield near ~4.4% on the fully-exchanged equity value. Cash ~$1.06 billion against ~$13.61 billion of total debt, so net debt ~$12.55 billion and net leverage ~4.1x trailing adjusted EBITDA of ~$3.08 billion, improved from ~4.6x a year earlier
• Market pricing and the two-security share count: ~$80.86 per share in mid-August 2026 against a ~$61.33 to ~$81.96 fifty-two-week range. There were ~348,758,065 common shares and ~105,750,828 RBI LP exchangeable units outstanding at July 31, 2026, so the fully-exchanged base is ~454.5 million and the equity value ~$36.8 billion, not the ~$28.2 billion implied by common shares alone. That works out to roughly ~20x trailing EPS, ~20x the ~$4.05 consensus 2026 estimate, ~3.8x trailing sales, and about ~16x trailing adjusted EBITDA once ~$12.55 billion of net debt is added to reach an enterprise value near ~$49 billion. Dividend ~$2.60 annualised for a yield near ~3.2%; beta ~0.53

Figures are approximate, tied to August 2026 and drawn from the Q2 2026 earnings release and Form 10-Q filed August 6, 2026, so verify live data before acting on any of them. Three adjustments keep the multiples honest. First, use ~454.5 million shares plus units, not ~348.8 million shares: RBI's own diluted EPS already assumes ~100% conversion of the exchangeable units under the if-converted method, which is why weighted average diluted shares were ~460 million in the quarter against ~348 million basic. Second, the ~3.8x price-to-sales ratio compares badly with pure franchisors because roughly half of reported revenue is low-margin Tim Hortons supply chain distribution and company-operated restaurant sales at the RH segment, neither of which resembles a royalty stream. Third, trailing GAAP earnings were lifted by discrete tax benefits from intra-group reorganisations and by the Burger King China deconsolidation, so adjusted diluted EPS of ~$1.93 for the first half is the cleaner read on run-rate earning power.

Other names that sit close to QSR: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get QSR exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so QSR sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where QSR fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

Restaurant Brands International in August 2026 is a ~95% franchised, ~33,000-restaurant royalty business whose Burger King US recovery and international expansion are carrying a stalled Tim Hortons and a shrinking Popeyes, priced near ~20x trailing earnings with ~4.1x net leverage and a share count that only reconciles once the partnership exchangeable units are counted in.

Whether QSR is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is QSR a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the QSR stock forecast.

For income investors, whether QSR pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does QSR pay a dividend? And to weigh QSR against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: QSR vs MCD and QSR vs WEN.