JPMorgan thinks Restaurant Brands International is poised for more growth. The firm initiated coverage of the restaurant conglomerate with an overweight rating in a Monday note, accompanied by an $82 per share price target. JPMorgan’s forecast implies more than 19% upside from Friday’s $68.69 close. Analyst John Ivankoe said the company, which oversees chains including Tim Hortons and Burger King, will benefit from a fundamental change to the business after suffering from past “underinvestment in capex but also opex.” “We sense a sea change in this business, especially with the appointment of very widely respected former Dominos CEO Patrick Doyle in addition to numerous other executives,” Ivankoe said. “A focus on improving unit economics is to benefit both existing unit performance as well as add greater visibility to new store performance – driving improved comps and reinforcing confidence in the discussed 4-5% unit growth outlook or achieving the 40k store outlook by 2029 from the current 30.1k.” The analyst added that the breadth of company growth will be driven by the internationally-exposed businesses including Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes. Restaurant Brands has has added 6% in 2023. QSR YTD mountain Restaurant Brands has added more than 6% in 2023. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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