Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO)

The company has done a great job. They will put deals together, cut the cost structure down, and then you’ve got this great company that expands by acquisition. This is good management that is much more aggressive on costs. A great story.

Sold his holdings when Burger King merged with Tim Hortons, as he was concerned about the debt levels. The valuation on all these fast food companies is sky-high. As a value investor, it is very hard for him to pay these prices where there is not a lot of growth. They get growth by cost cutting. If he ever saw a material pullback, he would definitely take a look again.

They bought Tim Horton’s and made it more efficient. Buy it on pull back because they are fully priced right now.

Its big assets are Tim Hortons and Burger King. Bought this in the high $50s and thinks it is a good company. They have debt, but that will be paid down rapidly. With the extra cash flow, they will buy back shares and increase the dividend. He is more excited about Tim Hortons then Burger King, but overall thinks it is a good company.

He likes it. It is a very well run business. They took a lot of cost out. It is a competitive environment. The stock is not as cheap as it was. They have a lot of debt and some has to be refinanced in the next couple of years.

Restaurant Brands (QSR-T) or Cineplex (CGX-T)? Doing well and expanding many of their Tim Hortons. He would hold off until there is some bad news or the markets get hit.

He likes the trend and likes the company, but there is quite a bit of debt in this. You want to be really picky when you buy it. They’ll work through the debt over time. It is a little pricey in that sector.

A well-run company. Incredibly cost conscious and has exceeded his expectations. Expectations are higher for this company. The stock re-rated, and is not a cheap stock today. You have to get a couple of years out before it starts looking attractive. He likes the company and thinks it is a very strong business, but today is not the day to be jumping in. An important name to be following.

This company’s business translates across the globe. A good business to be in. It is a good investment, but the problem is that it has run up tremendously. He would take a look at Dunkin’ Brands (DNKN-Q) or Starbucks (SBUX-Q) instead. He is a shareholder, but is not selling his shares.

Has not been adding to his holdings. It has been expensive since it existed. Everyone has been focused on earnings, and not free cash flow. They started approving returns on CapX, and if the franchisees did not meet the return they were just not going to spend the money. This has been north of 20X earnings for the last 2 years, but as free cash flow it was 5%-6%.

(Market Call Minute.)

A solid company. An expensive stock. Have a lot of debt, but it is well-managed. They’ve cut out a lot of costs and have a lot of free cash flow. A good, long term investment, but Buy it on weakness.

The company has done good things. Valuation is fairly rich, but they are good at cutting costs and integrating. Thinks you will see a lot of synergies, certainly in Canada. If there is a negative economic period of growth, they go down the least, because it is a cheap way to eat.

Owns Burger King and Tim Hortons. A pretty simple business, but what they are really doing is skimming off the top and collecting revenues. 99.7% of their network is franchised. A very cash heavy business and paid down a lot of debt from the Tim Horton acquisition. Valuation is quite robust.

Has a very strong, top line momentum. Strong performance in all regions. Just increased their dividend for the 6^th quarter in a row. He models they can grow earnings per share 18% each and every year over the next couple of year through opening new stores and enhanced products and higher margins. Have been lowering their debt steadily since the merger. Trading below its three-year average, and trading in line with its peers, but has a better growth rate. Dividend yield of 1.41%.