Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO)

This is a very attractive entry point. Traffic growth in US and Canada was less than analysts were anticipating. Company is not loosing share. The number of visits is declining a bit. Thinks traffic will improve as economy improves.

Normally trades at around 20X forward earnings but right now is trading at around 16X. Last quarter they had same-store sales that were a little bit less but he thinks their average spend per unit was actually higher. Fragmented market place in Canada. Own 42% of the market and there is still opportunity for growth. Obviously the US is a pretty big growth market for them. The problem is that EBITDA margins shrank last quarter year-over-year 1.19%. If they can reverse that, then it would be a Buy.

Thinks the story is decelerating. Facing more challenges in Canada, McDonald’s notwithstanding. Facing higher prices. The US business is actually picking up in terms of same-store sales. Hopefully this will be able to offset some of the weakness in Canada. Valuation is too high for what they are. Seems to be taking forever to find a new CEO.

Good coffee, good service, good product line. Same-store sales growth has been slowing a little bit but he still sees growth going forward. Stock is always a little bit ahead of itself. Not cheap. Incrementally growing 6% a year. 1.71% yield.

(Market Call Minute) Prefers McDonald’s and its global growth.

Thinks their penetration into the US will go rather well but also in Canada. Have marvellous menu updates and one of the key drivers to fast food business is continual upgrading or changing the menus.

1.7% dividend yield for a business this stable, one would expect a possible dividend hike. Have been trying to grow their business in the US with mixed reviews. Expect the stock would have a bump if they decided to scale back and increased their dividend. Has never been particularly cheap.

Approaching valuation levels where he would begin to look at it. Has always thought the valuation was very rich. US expansion has not been as robust as they had hoped. But in Canada they are always finding places to open new outlets.

Good company and has been doing things very well recently and is fairly defensive. He would prefer McDonald’s (KO-N), which has a 35 year history of expanding successfully internationally. Also, has a bigger dividend yield and the lower PE multiple with greater growth prospects.

Reported a bit weaker traffic in Canada in the last quarter. Management cited weaker consumer spending. This is more of a defensive consumer stock. Unit growth opportunity is more in the US. Very good with menu innovations and bringing in higher priced items to increase average (?) size.

Dividend growth excellent over the last 5 years but it is not behaving like it should. It could be vulnerable. He would stay clear right now. He would like to see how the security participates on a good days. Wants better behavior before he participates again.

This company now trades at around 16X forward earnings and typically has traded around 18X. Have seen a little bit of a headwind because of slightly higher costs and slightly lower margins, which is a little bit of a concern. Technically looks good at around the $50.88 mark. Thinks they missed 2^nd quarter earnings due to less frequent transactions but actually more spend on each transaction.

Not cheap on an earnings basis but there are a lot of other companies that were never cheap. Believes that the growth potential for this company is not Canada, but the US (they are proving it with the numbers) and they are just getting started. If they can mimic what they did in Canada, there is so much more to grow in this stock. He looks at it on a 5-10 year basis. 1.7% dividend, which he thinks will continue to grow each and every year.

(A Top Pick Oct 12/11. Up 5.97%.) Wouldn’t recommend you buy more here. Has been selling a little bit. Has the potential to expand its US footprint and has been showing a bit of that. 1.7% dividend.

Not one of her favorites. It seems to have broken down a bit technically. Fundamentally the company seems to be hurting badly from McDonald’s, who have been extremely promotionally. Has PE multiple so if it misses on earnings it will really get whacked. Input costs are really going to be horrific and you are going to see price increases. Customers are not willing to take price increases in these companies (the whole space).