1. Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 39
Topping the 10 best vegan stocks to buy now is Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR). Although Restaurant Brands doesn’t manufacture vegan food or alternative meat products, the company operates Burger King, the first fast-food chain to offer a plant-based burgers menu. In 2019, Burger King was one of the first fast-food franchises to enter the vegan market, collaborating with Impossible Foods to introduce the Impossible Whopper, a vegan burger. Restaurant Brands International Inc.’s stock has gained 42% in the last year. The company also operates Tim Hortons and Popeyes brands.
The company has a market cap of $19.9 billion. Restaurant Brands International Inc.’s revenue in 2020 came in at $30.7 billion. The income of the Burger King segment in 2020 was $20 billion. Northcoast analysts gave restaurant Brands International a Neutral ranking in April 2021.
Investment management firm Pershing Square Holdings Ltd. highlighted Restaurant Brands International Inc. growth during the pandemic in its Q4 2020 investor letter:
“QSR’s franchised business model is a high-quality, capital-light, growing annuity that generates high-margin brand royalty fees from three leading brands: Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes. The company nimbly navigated difficult market conditions in 2020 by assisting franchisees while maintaining its long-term growth potential.
As the COVID-19 pandemic began, management undertook a series of steps to secure and strengthen the business. The company quickly bolstered safety procedures and shifted marketing spend to highlight the off-premise options available to customers while supporting its franchisees with fee/cap ex deferrals and liquidity programs. Throughout the year, the company accelerated its digital investments by expanding its delivery footprint, modernizing its drive-thru experience, increasing mobile ordering adoption, and improving its loyalty programs.
While the pandemic negatively impacted the company’s sales, comparable sales have already recovered or are well on their way to recovery. Burger King U.S. returned to growth in January; Tim Hortons improved to a high-single-digit decline in Canada during the fourth quarter, and Popeyes U.S. grew 16% in 2020. To accelerate the recovery at Tim Hortons in Canada, the company has committed additional funds to bolster its advertising and support continued enhancements to its Tim’s Rewards program.
We continue to believe each of Restaurant Brands’ concepts will emerge stronger from this crisis as their business models are competitively advantaged in a socially distant and more budget-conscious consumption environment. The company continues to invest in drive-thru, delivery, and digital. We believe QSR’s long-term unit growth opportunity is still intact, and we expect unit growth to return to its mid-single-digit growth rate this year. As investors begin to see the results of these efforts, and underlying sales trends at each of its brands continue to improve, QSR’s share price should more accurately reflect our view of its business fundamentals.”
You can also take a peek at the 20 Most Profitable Fast-Food Chains and 10 Cheap Oil Stocks Under $10.
