Burger King
Revenue rose 9% to $539 million at Burger King. Profits clocked in at $0.25 per share, well ahead of the $0.15-a-share profit that the fast-food titan had posted on an adjusted basis a year earlier.
Most of the metrics held up well. Comps rose by 3.2%, the 13th consecutive quarter of store-level gains at Burger King. Company restaurant margins rose the fourth quarter in a row.
The only concern I have is that -- like Wendy's
Burger King's return to financial glory -- earnings per share have soared 148% to $0.82 a share through the first nine months of fiscal 2007 -- has come by cutting against the grain. Wendy's and McDonald's
Burger King's solution has been to roll out fatter -- and fattier -- burgers. Items like the Texas Double Whopper, Angus Cheesy Bacon, and BK Stacker have been the marquee promotions at the company. Yet BK isn't the only one gunning for decadence. CKE's
It just goes to show that there is more than one way to skin a burger chain. For now, at least, the artery-tightening eats have led to (ironically enough) healthy growth at Burger King.
For more on the burger wars saga, check out:
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz lives in Burger King's hometown of Miami and actually grabbed dinner at BK last night. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.