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Restaurant Brands reports mixed third-quarter results as Burger King U.S. sales rise

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets across the spectrum.

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Burger King Whopper burger in box beside fries on branded tray mat
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Restaurant Brands International reported mixed fiscal third-quarter results on Thursday. CNBC reports net income of $542 million, or $1.54 per share, up from $315 million, or 96 cents, a year earlier, and net revenue up 3.1% to $2.53 billion. Burger King’s U.S. same-store sales rose 8.4%, against an estimate of 6.2% cited by Bloomberg. Popeyes lagged. The New York Post reports that its U.S. same-store sales fell 2.2%, and CEO Joshua Kobza said the company had deliberately scaled back its wings offering. Burger King U.S. and Canada President Tom Curtis told Bloomberg that returning customers are driving the growth.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Restaurant Brands International reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $542 million, or $1.54 per share, up from $315 million, or 96 cents, a year earlier.

    One outletCNBC· Center

  2. Restaurant Brands’ net revenue rose 3.1% to $2.53 billion.

    One outletCNBC· Center

  3. Burger King’s U.S. same-store sales grew 8.4%, against an estimate of 6.2%, according to figures cited in a Bloomberg interview.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Bloomberg
    Center
    CNBC

  4. Burger King U.S. and Canada President Tom Curtis said returning customers are driving growth.

    One outletBloomberg· Left

  5. Popeyes’ U.S. same-store sales fell 2.2%.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

  6. Restaurant Brands CEO Joshua Kobza said the company deliberately scaled back its Popeyes wings offering.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three outlets report that Restaurant Brands had mixed third-quarter results, with Burger King’s U.S. sales rising and Popeyes lagging. The main difference is emphasis: CNBC and Bloomberg lead with Burger King’s turnaround, while the New York Post leads with Popeyes’ wings menu cut and customer complaints.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    Bloomberg’s headline and description present an interview with Burger King’s US president on the chain’s sales turnaround, setting the 8.4% sales growth against a 6.2% estimate.

    Burger King US President on Sales Turnaround
    BloombergLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    CNBC’s headline puts the mixed results first, then credits Burger King’s U.S. turnaround with signs of success while noting Popeyes’ lag.

    Restaurant Brands reports mixed results as Burger King's U.S. turnaround shows signs of success
    CNBCCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The New York Post’s headline leads with Popeyes’ weakness and a cut to its wings menu, framing the results through customer complaints about fewer options.

    Popeyes’ parent company Loaded verb“blames”The verb assigns fault to the wings menu, turning the company’s explanation into an accusation in the reporter’s own voice.More neutral: attributesDisagree with this highlight? ‘complicated’ chicken wings for mixed third-quarter results — customers Loaded verb“lament”The verb presents customers’ reaction as grief rather than a plain statement of their complaint.More neutral: say they missDisagree with this highlight? fewer options
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right2

    blameslament

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    blamesMore neutral: attributes

    The verb assigns fault to the wings menu, turning the company’s explanation into an accusation in the reporter’s own voice.

    Popeyes’ parent company blames ‘complicated’ chicken wings for mixed third-quarter results — customers lament fewer…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    lamentMore neutral: say they miss

    The verb presents customers’ reaction as grief rather than a plain statement of their complaint.

    …blames ‘complicated’ chicken wings for mixed third-quarter results — customers lament fewer options

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Burger King sales turnaround
  • Returning customers
  • Growth beating estimates
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • BloombergLeft

    Burger King US President on Sales Turnaround

    Burger King US and Canada President Tom Curtis discussed the chain’s comparable-sales growth, cited in the conversation as 8.4%, against an estimate of 6.2%. …

    Read at Bloomberg (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Mixed quarterly results
  • Burger King turnaround
  • Earnings against analyst expectations
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • CNBCCenter

    Restaurant Brands reports mixed results as Burger King's U.S. turnaround shows signs of success

    Burger King's U.S. restaurants outperformed, while Popeyes disappointed.

    Read at CNBC (opens in a new tab)

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Popeyes wings menu cut
  • Customer complaints
  • Company explanation
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    Popeyes’ parent company Loaded verb“blames”The verb assigns fault to the wings menu, turning the company’s explanation into an accusation in the reporter’s own voice.More neutral: attributesDisagree with this highlight? ‘complicated’ chicken wings for mixed third-quarter results — customers Loaded verb“lament”The verb presents customers’ reaction as grief rather than a plain statement of their complaint.More neutral: say they missDisagree with this highlight? fewer options

    Some say cooking chicken wings is an art -- for Popeyes, it was a big pain in the neck that contributed to mixed third-quarter results for parent company Restaurant Brands International.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    1 day 11 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 30, 5:51 PM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    CNBC, Oct 29, 6:33 AM EDT

  • Right

    1 day 12 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 30, 6:41 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. CNBCCenterOct 29, 6:33 AM EDT
  2. BloombergLeftOct 30, 5:51 PM EDT
  3. New York PostRightOct 30, 6:41 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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