Is Popeyes Stock Publicly Traded?

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen was a darling of the stock market in 2020. This fast-food chain is known for its spicy Cajun-style chicken and other Creole goodies. It even stuck out in the competitive holiday crowd with its own take on the traditional ugly Christmas sweater.

Its chicken sandwich also gained infamy in 2019 for being the opposite of Chick-fil-A. Instead of “the lord’s chicken,” shortages of the popular chicken sandwich sparked violence at Popeyes throughout the 2019 holiday season.

With customers so frenzied to buy its products, some investors want to get in on the action and wonder is Popeyes stock publicly traded?

The answer isn’t so simple. Popeyes was purchased in 2017 and is now a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International Inc. While you can’t invest directly in the restaurant, you can invest in its parent company. Let’s discuss what this means for potential Popeyes investors.

What Does Popeyes Do?

Popeyes specializes in fast food fried chicken and competes with the likes of KFC and Church’s Chicken.

The company was founded in Louisiana and puts a Cajun twist on the genre. Its staples include chicken, biscuits, and red beans and rice.

In August 2019, the company launched a chicken sandwich to more directly compete with Chick-fil-A. The sandwich sold out within two weeks. It relaunched by November 2019 and spread to Canada by September 2020.

The company uses a signature red and yellow color scheme in its locations and has a catchy jingle to run its marketing. It also sponsors NASCAR drivers and more.

By 2020, the company has over 3,000 locations in 40 states and 30 countries. Most are franchised, although the company does own about 30 stores.

Popeyes president is Sami Siddiqui, and he reports to RBI CEO Jose Cil, along with Co-Chairs Alex Behring and Daniel Schwartz.

Is Popeyes Stock Publicly Traded?

Popeyes itself isn’t publicly traded. It’s a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE:QSR).

This Canadian-American multinational fast food holding company owns Popeyes and a variety of other brands, including Burger King and Tim Hortons.

These three brands are pivotal in the company’s portfolio, though BK and Tim Horton’s saw revenues decline during the pandemic, Popeyes’ stores reported double-digit sales growth on the back of its chicken sandwich.

Because of this, investors looked for ways to invest in just Popeyes in 2020. This led to searches for the company’s stock symbol, which we’ll cover next.

What Is Popeyes Stock Symbol?

As discussed, Popeyes is a subsidiary of RBI Inc. Its stock symbol is QSR on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company reported $145 million of income in the fiscal third quarter of 2020 off $1.34 billion in revenue. This comes out to $0.68 earnings per share.

QSR stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. This means you can invest from the United States or Canada.

Overall, the company oversees over 25,000 restaurant locations.

The company’s market capitalization is approximately $37 billion CAD ($29 billion USD). It has trading volume of 1.70 million shares.

QSR had an annual dividend yield of 3.35 percent, which comes out to $2.08 per year paid quarterly at $0.52. It maintained its dividend payments throughout the 2020 recession.

What Company Owns Popeyes?

The acquisition of Popeyes by Restaurant Brands International happened on March 27, 2017, with RBI paying $1.8 billion ($79 per share) to buy it out.

RBI was created by 3G Capital, which held a 71 percent majority stake in Burger King and kept a 51 percent majority stake after its takeover of Tim Hortons.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) was the company’s second biggest investor, holding 11.6 percent of the company until it unloaded its stake in August 2020. No reason was given for the move, and it seemed to have no noticeable impact on its stock price.

Meanwhile, Pershing Square Capital founder Bill Ackman cut Berkshire out of his portfolio while increasing his stake in RBI. This trade also happened in August 2020.

Although RBI owns the Popeyes brand, most of the company’s 3,000+ stores are owned by franchisees. The largest franchisees include HZ Ops Holdings, Inc and Z&H Foods, Inc., which own just over 300 stores combined.

Can You Buy Stock In Popeyes?

You can’t buy stock directly in Popeyes, but you can buy stock in Restaurant Brands International.

RBI share price rose to heights of nearly $80 in 2019 before dropping below $70 in early 2020 and crashing to a 52-week low of $25.08 at the onset of the worldwide pandemic.

It since rose back over $60 per share and is considered by bullish investors to be a good buy under $70. The company has a P/E ratio of 17x, which compares to a 31x P/E ratio from rival Yum Brands and 32x for McDonald’s Corp (MCD).

This makes the stock an attractive value to some investors who believe it has plenty of growth potential during an uncertain 2021 economic recovery.

Does Burger King Own Popeyes?

Burger King doesn’t own Popeyes, as the company was made a subsidiary of RBI during the Tim Hortons acquisition.

This makes both Popeyes and BK equal partners, although Tim Hortons is the biggest revenue driver, even with decreased sales from the coronavirus.

Popeyes is carrying all three brands at this point, and that could continue into 2021 and beyond.

Is Popeyes Stock a Good Buy?

Popeyes is on an upward swing. The company benefitted from the declining sales at KFC and jumping on the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich trend.

Its popularity caused double-digit same-store sales growth during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic while its sister brands BK and Tim Hortons slumped.

Warren Buffet divested his stake in the brand while Bill Ackman increased his. This gives two opposite opinions from experienced and successful investors. Which side you take depends on your risk appetite and goals. 

---

The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Financhill has a disclosure policy. This post may contain affiliate links or links from our sponsors.