Popeyes Sandwich Demand Fuels Profit Beat at Burger King Owner

  • Restaurant Brands CEO says chicken sandwich is ‘game changer’
  • Tim Hortons still struggling to gain ground at home in Canada

A box of fried chicken and biscuits is arranged for a photograph outside a Popeyes fast food restaurant in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
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Restaurant Brands International Inc. rose after posting earnings that topped analysts’ estimates, driven by surging popularity of the Popeyes chain’s chicken sandwich.

Popeyes same-store sales soared 34% in the the fourth quarter, more than double the 15% gain analysts had predicted, according to Consensus Metrix. The brand’s business in the U.S. catapulted after it introduced a new chicken sandwich last year. It sold out in the summer, and was brought back in November chainwide.