Restaurant Brands International Inc.

Good morning and welcome to the Restaurant Brands International's first quarter 2026 Earnings Conference School. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. You will hear a tone to confirm that you are in the queue. To exit the question queue, you may press star then two. All calls will be limited to one question and please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Kendall Peck, RBI's Vice President of Treasury and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Restaurant Brands International's earnings call for the quarter ended March 31st, 2026. Joining me on the call today are Restaurant Brands International's Executive Chairman Patrick Doyle, CEO Josh Kobza, and CFO Sami Siddiqui. Following remarks from Josh, Sammy, and Patrick, we will open the call to questions. Today's discussion may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks detailed in the press release issued this morning and in our SEC filings. We will also reference non-GAAP financial measures, reconciliations of which can be found in the press release and trending schedules available on our investor relations website. As a reminder, organic adjusted operating income growth is on a constant currency basis, and excludes results from the restaurant holding segment. For calendar planning purposes, our preliminary Q2 earnings call is scheduled for the morning of August 6th, 2026. And now I'll turn the call over to Josh.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. When we met with you in Miami at our investor day in late February, we made clear commitments to the investment community and highlighted a vision for RBI through 2028. We laid out a path to 5% plus net restaurant growth, predictable earnings growth, and an investment grade balance sheet while being the partner of choice for the best franchisees and the employer of choice for the best talent. We also committed to returning capital to shareholders in a meaningful and sustained way through a growing dividend and the resumption of share repurchases with the goal of delivering consistent double digit total shareholder returns. And we've acted quickly on that commitment. We began repurchasing shares in March for the first time in over two years. reflecting our conviction in the business. Investor Day laid out the vision for the company we are building, and Q1 is an early proof point that we're moving in the right direction. We converted strong top-line results, including comparable sales growth of 3.2% and system-wide sales growth of 6.2% into 10.7% organic AOI growth and mid-teens EPS expansion, while continuing to invest behind our brands and return capital to shareholders. This combination of top line growth, cost discipline, and shareholder returns is exactly what we're aiming to deliver on a consistent basis. At Burger King, Tom and his team's work under Reclaim the Flame is starting to show up in the numbers. We saw strong performance on both an absolute and relative basis this quarter, delivering nearly 6% comparable sales growth in the US and significantly outperforming the industry. Importantly, that performance wasn't driven by one collaboration or campaign. Over the last four years, the team has strengthened the foundation of the business from restaurant standards to the quality and consistency of the guest experience. And that's now enabling our brand elevation efforts to land more effectively. In Q1, we continue to take a balanced approach to value and family offerings and layered on exciting improvements to the Whopper, both of which are driving higher engagement and repeat visits. In addition to the momentum at Burger King, both International and Tim Hortons delivered their 20th consecutive quarters of positive comparable sales, reflecting the quality of our franchisees, our brand strength, and our teams. International continued to stand out, delivering 5.7% comparable sales and 11.1% system-wide sales growth, reinforcing its role as one of our most important long-term growth engines. We also closed our Burger King China joint venture with CPE, a milestone we're excited about. and one that sets the business up for the kind of growth that we know it's capable of. Overall, the momentum we built in Q1 gives me confidence. It reflects focused execution, engaged franchisees, and the strength of the plan that we laid out in February. We're executing against it, and we're doing it in a way that the founders of our brands would be proud of, with discipline and ownership mindset and a genuine commitment to building something durable for our franchisees, our guests, and our shareholders. With that, let's turn to our segment highlights, starting with Tim Hortons, which represents roughly 41% of our operating profit. Tim's delivered comparable sales growth of 1.5% in Canada, outperforming a relatively flat QSR industry amid a backdrop of lower consumer confidence and unfavorable weather in January and March. Growth was broad-based across all day parts, with notable strength in morning and late night, largely driven by cold beverages and breakfast foods. We remain focused on defending and extending our leadership in coffee, breakfast, and baked goods. In Q1, we achieved the number one position in Brand Health's Best Breakfast ranking for the first time, leading our nearest competitor by approximately two points. And we're focused on building from that position of strength. During the quarter, we launched our $3 breakfast sandwich or wrap with a coffee, supporting our value leadership and ensuring Canadians can access their favorite core TIMMS products at a great everyday price. We continue to build our presence in the PM day part. Our $8.99 loaded wrap meals helped drive higher combo incidents throughout the quarter, and with continued execution improvements, we remain confident in the long-term opportunity to grow this part of the business. Across day parts, beverages remain a key driver of our business. Beverage sales grew 2% year over year, with another quarter of standout performance in cold beverages, up 10%, and continued strength in espresso-based drinks and tea, up 8%. As we move into the warmer months, we're excited to provide guests with more cold beverage innovation, including recent launches like protein and zero sugar quenchers. Underpinning these results is continued operational progress. We're making steady improvements with strong execution from our restaurant owners and team members, reflected in an average Google rating of four stars for the quarter. Overall guest satisfaction also improved over two points year over year, with the PM day part reaching an all-time high in Q1. At the same time, we're enhancing our digital experience and deepening guest engagement with a nearly 40% digital sales mix in Q1, supported by initiatives like Roll Up to Win, which returned in February with a refreshed, more engaging experience. We're looking forward to launching our loyalty partnership with Canadian Tire in the second half of the year, bringing more guests to the TIMSS platform alongside another iconic Canadian brand. Finally, on development. While Q1 reflected normal seasonality, we remain confident in our path to accelerate growth in 2026, following our return to positive energy in Canada last year. Tim's is a brand that earns its industry outperformance quarter by quarter through quality food and beverages, compelling everyday value, a consistently high quality guest experience, and as a result, the loyalty of millions of Canadians who make it part of their daily routine. As we head into summer with an exciting innovation pipeline, continued focus on operational excellence, and accelerating unit growth, we remain confident in the path ahead for this business. Turning now to International, which represents 29% of our operating profit. International delivered another quarter of strong results, with comparable sales of 5.7% and net restaurant growth of 4.5%, driving system-wide sales growth of over 11%. Performance was driven by solid execution of both menu innovation and everyday value, leading to broad-based momentum across some of our largest markets, including Burger King in Spain, Germany, Australia, Brazil, China, Korea, and Japan. Our local teams continue to launch innovative products that are locally relevant, create guest excitement, and drive incremental visits. We expanded baby burgers into Germany and Spain, building on the platform's strong performance in France last summer. In Korea, premium beef innovation like the Garlic Bulgogi Maximum Burger drove positive guest response, while in Australia, Hungry Jack's launched new unique beverages like Nutella iced coffee. At the same time, innovation must be balanced with strong value for money positioning. Markets like Brazil continue to execute a solid base of everyday value. While in China, we recently launched a value-oriented whole muscle chicken sandwich that has been met with incredible guest feedback. This combination of innovation and value has enabled us to deliver some of the strongest and most consistent international sales results in the industry over the past few years. During the first quarter, we also closed our joint venture agreement with CPE at Burger King China. In March, Patrick, Sammy, Tiago, and I spent time in Beijing with the Burger King China team, including Chairman Johnson Huang and Deputy CEO Danny Tan, and we all came away energized about the path ahead. The team there is exceptional, and the early results speak for themselves, with double digit comparable sales growth and notable margin improvement in the first quarter. The team is already demonstrating its restaurant expertise and deep knowledge of the Chinese market, with a clear plan to optimize the supply chain, enhance the brand's marketing, and improve restaurant build costs to drive stronger returns. As we highlighted at Investor Day, BK China is an important component of our path back to 5% plus NRG by 2028, and CPE has injected $350 million of primary capital into the business, fully funding development over the next five years, starting with a return to modestly positive net restaurant growth this year in 2026. While we were in China, we also spent time with the Popeyes China team, which is working to solidify brand positioning and increase awareness. We're looking forward to accelerating development this year and positioning the business for success under a new long-term operator within the next two years. The first quarter demonstrated how the international business continues to be a reliable source of growth for us, consistently outperforming, building on a strong base of scaled markets, and with no shortage of catalysts ahead. from CPE's ambitions in China to Popeye's continued acceleration all around the world. Shifting now to Burger King, which represents roughly 18% of our operating profits. U.S. same-store sales grew 5.8%, outperforming the burger QSR industry by over five points this quarter. This is the result of four years of disciplined execution from Tom and his team that has positioned us and the system to successfully welcome guests back through impactful marketing. Our marketing continues to be anchored on three key tenets, elevating our core menu, connecting with families and kids, and delivering consistent everyday value. This quarter, we launched the Elevated Whopper, featuring a new glazed bun, creamier mayo, and clamshell packaging, which is driving positive guest feedback and the highest Whopper average unit volumes in over three years. In April, we drove further trial and engagement with lapsed guests through Nationwide Whopper Wednesday, reminding guests why our flame-grilled burger is the very best in the industry. We also rolled out $3.99 King Jr. meals as part of our strategy to re-engage with families and kids, and saw continued growth in King Jr. average unit volumes as a result. And on value, our $5 duos and $7 trios continue to perform well, complementing our premium offerings and providing guests with choice and a consistent value message. A key highlight this quarter was our direct engagement with guests. and the launch of our brand elevation campaign. In February, Tom personally spoke with more than 1,500 guests as part of a listening campaign to better understand what they love about Burger King and where we have opportunities to improve. The feedback was really encouraging. There is clear latent love for the brand. We received valuable input that's shaping our menu elevation roadmap and providing the team with ideas to further strengthen brand love and deepen guest connections. Our marketing efforts are supported by ongoing improvements and operations and strong alignment with our franchisees, as evidenced by their 97% vote to maintain their elevated ad fund contribution, which we announced at investor day. Overall, this was an exciting quarter for Burger King, and it serves as a strong proof point that our strategy is working. When we invite guests back to experience a better Burger King, they come and they stay. What's most encouraging is that these results are not isolated data points. They reflect a brand that's earning back guest trust and building real momentum. and we believe we're still in the early endings of that journey. Now turning to Popeyes, where net restaurant growth of 1.2% was more than offset by a comparable sales decline of 6.5%, resulting in system-wide sales declining by 3.9%. While results were softer than we'd like to see, we have a clear understanding of the underlying drivers and are moving quickly to address them. At investor day, Peter laid out three key pillars required to get Popeyes back on track. One, improving in-restaurant execution and guest service, Two, narrowing our focus on our core offerings. And third, rebuilding a consistent everyday value proposition. During our franchisee roadshows in April, we brought these priorities together into a clear, actionable framework, which was met with strong alignment and excitement from our franchise operators. To improve execution, we've increased field support to enable higher frequency shoulder-to-shoulder training on our brand standards. We held our inaugural Restaurant General Manager guest experience rallies across roughly 20 cities over the past two months, featuring interactive training focused on delivering great guest service. I attended our rally in Miami and saw firsthand the incredible energy and engagement from our managers. We're beginning to see early improvements in product satisfaction and operational metrics, though it will take time for these to translate into top-line results. We're also focused on the core of what we do best, bone-in chicken, tenders, and the sandwich. A tighter focus makes it easier to execute well in the restaurant and ensures our marketing is working harder behind fewer, stronger bets. To rebuild a consistent base of everyday value, we launched our $5 Faves platform, offering guests choice of their favorite Popeyes items at an affordable price point. And we're already seeing signs of underlying improvement in value scores. We'll continue to evolve this platform while exploring additional offerings for group occasions. So while there's more work to do on Popeyes, the plan is clear. Franchisee alignment is strong, and the energy in the system tells me we're ready to execute and deliver some great results. I'm confident our efforts will support a return to positive comps in the second half of 2026. Finally, Firehouse Subs delivered net restaurant growth of 8.1% and relatively flat comparable sales, resulting in 7.2% system-wide sales growth. We continue to see solid development momentum, supported by a strong pipeline of franchise partners average paybacks of less than four years, and increasing brand awareness. As highlighted at our Investor Day, I'm excited to see Firehouse become a more meaningful contributor to RBI's growth over time and remain confident that the brand will deliver another year of accelerated unit growth in 2026. With that, I'll pass it over to Sammy to talk through our financial results of the quarter. Sammy?