Restaurant Brands International Inc (QSR) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Restaurant Brands International Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen only mode. (Operator Instructions). After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. (Operator Instructions). All callers will be limited to one question. Please note that this event is being recorded. And I would now like to turn the conference over to Kendall Peck, RBI's Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

早上好，歡迎參加 Restaurant Brands International 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。所有參與者將處於僅聽模式。 （操作員說明）。今天的演講結束後，將有機會提問。 （操作員說明）。所有來電者都只能回答一個問題。請注意，該事件正在被記錄。現在我想將會議交給印度儲備銀行投資者關係主管 Kendall Peck。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Restaurant Brands International's Earnings Call for the Third Quarter ended September 30, 2023. As a reminder, a live broadcast of this call may be accessed on the Investor Relations web page at rbi.com/investors, and a recording will be available for replay. Joining me on the call today are Restaurant Brands International's Executive Chairman, Patrick Doyle; CEO, Josh Kobza; and CFO, Matt Dunnigan.

謝謝你，接線生。大家早安，歡迎參加 Restaurant Brands International 於 2023 年 9 月 30 日結束的第三季度收益電話會議。請注意，可以在投資者關係網頁 rbi.com/investors 上觀看本次電話會議的現場直播，並且錄音可供重播。今天和我一起參加電話會議的是 Restaurant Brands International 的執行主席 Patrick Doyle；執行長喬許·科布扎；和財務長馬特鄧尼根。

Today's earnings call contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to various risks set forth in the press release issued this morning and in our SEC filings. In addition, this earnings call includes non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are included in the press release available on our website. During portions of the call today, we will be referencing franchisee profitability measures that are based on unaudited self-reported franchisee results.

今天的收益電話會議包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受到今天上午發布的新聞稿和我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中規定的各種風險的影響。此外，本次財報電話會議也包括非公認會計準則財務指標。非公認會計準則財務指標的調節表包含在我們網站上的新聞稿中。在今天電話會議的部分內容中，我們將參考基於未經審計的加盟商自我報告結果的加盟商獲利能力指標。

In addition, the consolidated growth metrics discussed during the prepared remarks, including consolidated system-wide sales growth, comparable sales, net restaurant growth, organic adjusted EBITDA growth and organic adjusted EPS growth exclude results from our franchised restaurants in Russia as we did not generate any new profit from restaurants in Russia in 2022 and do not expect to generate any new profits in 2023. And now I'll turn the call over to Josh.

此外，在準備好的發言中討論的綜合增長指標，包括綜合系統範圍的銷售增長、可比銷售額、餐廳淨增長、有機調整後的EBITDA 增長和有機調整後的每股收益增長，不包括我們在俄羅斯的特許經營餐廳的結果，因為我們沒有產生2022 年俄羅斯餐廳不會產生任何新利潤，預計 2023 年不會產生任何新利潤。現在我將把電話轉給喬許。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today's call to discuss our third quarter of 2023. We delivered another solid quarter, including 7% comparable sales and 4.2% net restaurant growth, which drove year-over-year system-wide sales growth of 10.9% and organic adjusted EBITDA growth of 9.3%. Our comparable sales this quarter were driven by 8.1% growth at Tim Hortons Canada, 7.6% in Burger King International and 6.6% at Burger King U.S. In addition, Popeyes U.S. grew 5.6% and Firehouse U.S. was up 3.9%. Our development teams are focused on closing out the year with Q4, as always expected to be the biggest development quarter of the year. That said, we are now expecting a higher mix of smaller format express units at Tims China, which drive brand awareness and penetration, but we will not be including in our restaurant count or net restaurant growth results given their lower ARS levels. As a result of this, as well as smaller movements in other markets, we now expect 2023 net restaurant growth to be around 4%.

大家早安，感謝大家參加今天的電話會議，討論2023 年第三季度的情況。我們又實現了一個穩健的季度，包括7% 的可比銷售額和4.2% 的餐廳淨增長，這推動了全系統年成長銷售額成長 10.9%，有機調整後 EBITDA 成長 9.3%。本季可比銷售額的推動因素包括 Tim Hortons Canada 成長 8.1%、Burger King International 成長 7.6% 和 Burger King U.S. 成長 6.6%。此外，Popeyes U.S. 成長 5.6%，Firehouse U.S. 成長 3.9%。我們的開發團隊專注於第四季結束今年的工作，正如人們一直期望的那樣，第四季將是今年最大的開發季度。也就是說，我們現在預計Tims 中國將有更多小型快餐店的組合，這將提高品牌知名度和滲透率，但鑑於其較低的ARS 水平，我們不會將其納入我們的餐廳數量或淨餐廳增長結果中。由於這一點，以及其他市場的較小變動，我們現在預計 2023 年餐廳淨成長率將在 4% 左右。

Looking to 2024, we are confident we can drive 5% plus net restaurant growth as we stabilize Burger King U.S., ramp up Burger King China and Firehouse U.S. and see Tims, Popeyes and Firehouse International accelerate. We are also focused on driving traffic and franchisee profitability growth at each of our brands, and we're pleased to make progress on both this quarter. Tim Hortons Canada drove positive traffic, tickets at Burger King International were flat. And while we still have plenty of work to do, we were very pleased to see progress in our Burger King and Popeye's U.S. businesses with traffic improving to flat year-over-year. On franchisee profitability, strong top line results, moderating costs and improved labor productivity helped deliver another quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth in average restaurant level EBITDA for each of our home markets. We look forward to providing you with a full year update on home market franchisee profitability on our Q4 call in February.

展望 2024 年，隨著我們穩定漢堡王美國、擴大漢堡王中國和 Firehouse 美國，並看到 Tims、Popeyes 和 Firehouse International 加速發展，我們有信心推動 5% 以上的餐廳淨增長。我們也致力於推動每個品牌的流量和加盟商獲利能力成長，我們很高興本季在這兩方面都取得了進展。加拿大 Tim Hortons Canada 帶來了良好的客流量，漢堡王國際 (Burger King International) 的門票持平。儘管我們還有大量工作要做，但我們很高興看到漢堡王和大力水手的美國業務取得了進展，客流量比去年同期持平。在加盟商獲利能力方面，強勁的營收業績、成本的降低和勞動生產率的提高幫助我們每個本土市場的平均餐廳水準 EBITDA 又實現了兩位數的同比增長。我們期待在二月份的第四季度電話會議上為您提供有關國內市場特許經營商盈利能力的全年最新資訊。

Now let's turn to brand performance, starting with Tim Hortons in Canada. We saw a healthy balance of check and traffic, drive comparable sales of 8.1% and system-wide sales growth of 8.5%. These results were driven by strength in our core breakfast and baked goods, continued PM food and beverage extensions and operational efficiencies, including improved speed of service. These results also more than offset the lapping of our Q3 2022 Smile Cookie initiative, which shifted into Q2 this year and impacted our comparable sales by over 100 basis points. We reinforced our breakfast and baked goods leadership with our Smoky Honey bacon breakfast sandwiches and the introduction of Dream cookies, which built off our successful Dream Donuts platform. These new products drove trade-up from our core platforms while attracting younger guests in more urban areas.

現在讓我們來談談品牌表現，首先從加拿大的 Tim Hortons 開始。我們看到了支票和流量的健康平衡，推動可比銷售額成長 8.1%，全系統銷售額成長 8.5%。這些結果是由我們的核心早餐和烘焙食品的實力、持續的 PM 食品和飲料擴展以及營運效率（包括服務速度的提高）所推動的。這些結果也遠遠抵消了我們 2022 年第三季微笑餅乾計畫的影響，該計畫已轉移到今年第二季度，對我們的可比銷售額影響超過 100 個基點。我們透過煙燻蜂蜜培根早餐三明治和 Dream 餅乾的推出，鞏固了我們在早餐和烘焙食品領域的領先地位，這些餅乾建立在我們成功的 Dream Donuts 平台之上。這些新產品推動了我們核心平台的消費升級，同時吸引了更多城市地區的年輕客人。

Dream Cookies helped us gain share in an important growth category that skews towards the PM daypart. In fact, over 65% of Dream Cookie sales came in the PM daypart, nearly 5% higher than PM sales for our core cookie offerings. We also extended our savory anytime snackers with the addition of Twist, which have proven to be a great afternoon snack at an attractive price point. These initiatives, coupled with continued strength in our loaded bowls and wraps contributed to 7% year-over-year growth in PM food sales and an increase in our lunch market share. [Axon] team have also been thoughtful in capturing broad-based beverage growth to position the brand as the leading destination for both hot and cold beverages. We saw our cold beverage products, including our sparkling quenchers continue to pair well with our food offerings with an attachment rate of over 35%. This helped cold beverage sales grew 10% year-over-year and allowed us to sustain over 25% market share. While we still have plenty of opportunity to capture our fair share of the $4 billion cold beverage market in Canada, I am very proud of our progress and feel confident in the team's plan to continue our expansion.

Dream Cookies 幫助我們在一個偏向下午時段的重要成長類別中獲得了份額。事實上，超過 65% 的 Dream Cookie 銷售額來自下午時段，比我們核心餅乾產品的下午銷售額高出近 5%。我們還通過添加 Twist 來擴展我們的鹹味隨時零食，事實證明，它是一種很棒的下午零食，價格也很有吸引力。這些舉措，加上我們在裝滿碗和包裝紙方面的持續強勁，推動了 PM 食品銷量同比增長 7%，並提高了我們的午餐市場份額。 [Axon] 團隊在捕捉廣泛的飲料成長方面也深思熟慮，將該品牌定位為熱飲和冷飲的領先目的地。我們看到我們的冷飲產品，包括起泡猝滅劑，繼續與我們的食品完美搭配，附著率超過 35%。這有助於冷飲銷量年增 10%，並使我們能夠維持超過 25% 的市場份額。雖然我們仍然有很多機會在加拿大 40 億美元的冷飲市場中佔據應有的份額，但我對我們的進步感到非常自豪，並對團隊繼續擴張的計劃充滿信心。

Our brand love and guest frequency has enabled us to build one of the most frequently used loyalty programs in Canada with over 5 million average monthly active users that drive over 30% of our sales. Tim's loyalty members received attractive personalized offers, including targeted offers to bring them back in the afternoon to try one of our PM snacks. Our digital and operations teams work cross-functionally and collaborate with restaurant owners to deliver a great guest experience. Our new scan-and-pay feature, which allows for a single QR-code to scan for loyalty and payment is creating a more seamless experience for team members and guests and is driving improvements in restaurant throughput.

我們的品牌熱愛和賓客頻率使我們能夠建立加拿大最常用的忠誠度計劃之一，平均每月活躍用戶超過 500 萬，推動了我們銷售額的 30% 以上。 Tim 的忠誠會員收到了極具吸引力的個人化優惠，包括有針對性的優惠，讓他們在下午回來嘗試我們的一款下午零食。我們的數位和營運團隊跨職能工作，並與餐廳業主合作，提供卓越的賓客體驗。我們新的掃描付款功能允許掃描單個二維碼以獲取忠誠度和付款，為團隊成員和客人創造了更無縫的體驗，並推動了餐廳吞吐量的提高。

Our proactive operational initiatives, including coast-to-coast speed of service trainings, coupled with an improved labor environment and growing guest adoption of Scan & Pay, helped drive a 7% year-over-year improvement in guest satisfaction this quarter and nearly 10% better drive-through speed of service year-over-year. These advancements give us confidence that we can continue expanding into later dayparts with innovative food and beverage offerings without sacrificing on excellent service. It's exciting to see another quarter of great results, which would not be possible without the hard work and support of our restaurant owners, their team members and local communities.

我們積極主動的營運舉措，包括從東海岸到西海岸的服務速度培訓，加上改善的勞動環境和越來越多的客人採用掃碼支付，幫助推動本季度客人滿意度同比提高了7%，並提高了近10%。駕駛服務速度年增 %。這些進步讓我們相信，我們可以在不犧牲優質服務的情況下，繼續透過創新的食品和飲料產品擴展到以後的時段。很高興看到另一個季度取得出色成果，如果沒有我們餐廳老闆、他們的團隊成員和當地社區的辛勤工作和支持，這是不可能實現的。

Turning now to Burger King. The international business grew third quarter system-wide sales by 13.3%, reaching over $14.5 billion in international system-wide sales over the past 12 months. These results were driven by net restaurant growth of 5.7% and comparable sales of 7.6%, reflecting solid performance in markets like Australia, the U.K., Mexico, Japan and France, which just crossed the 500-store threshold. While we did experience a sequential deceleration in the overall rate of comparable sales growth from Q2 to Q3, this was primarily driven by moderating price. Burger King's International business has been an important long-term growth engine. And in September, we had the opportunity to visit restaurants in Europe with David and his team. We saw firsthand why this business is well positioned overseas, modern image, great operations and the best products in our segment. Over 75% of our international BK restaurants have modern image. And with this generally comes a more digital guest experience, including having kiosks and over 50% of our international restaurants. This has helped drive over 50% of international sales through digital channels, and that number is closer to 90% in some markets like Korea and China.

現在轉向漢堡王。國際業務第三季全系統銷售額成長了 13.3%，過去 12 個月國際全系統銷售額超過 145 億美元。這些業績是由 5.7% 的餐廳淨成長和 7.6% 的可比銷售額推動的，反映出澳洲、英國、墨西哥、日本和法國等市場的穩健表現，這些市場剛剛突破 500 家門市的門檻。雖然從第二季到第三季度，我們的可比銷售成長率確實出現了連續放緩，但這主要是由價格放緩推動的。漢堡王的國際業務一直是重要的長期成長引擎。九月份，我們有機會與大衛和他的團隊一起參觀了歐洲的餐廳。我們親眼目睹了為什麼該企業在海外擁有良好的定位、現代化的形象、出色的營運以及我們細分市場中最好的產品。我們超過 75% 的國際 BK 餐廳都擁有現代形象。隨之而來的是更數位化的賓客體驗，包括設立自助服務終端和超過 50% 的國際餐廳。這有助於透過數位管道推動超過 50% 的國際銷售額，而在韓國和中國等一些市場，這一數字接近 90%。

Digital sales are a win-win-win as they deliver a better experience for guests and team members and higher average checks and frequency for franchisees. Restaurants with modern image also typically see better operations as they have more efficient back-of-house layouts, new restaurant technology and improved team member retention. Our team is in the process of rolling out a new proprietary operating system that further streamlines back-of-house flow for team members and products, especially in a digital era with multiple order in fulfillment channels. We expect to have the dynamic Service System, or DSS, as we call it, in over 2,000 restaurants by the end of 2023 with a path to 100% in the coming years. We've already seen solid results from DSS internationally, including 3% comparable sales uplift on average and a mid-single digit improvements in speed of service versus non-DSS restaurants.

數位銷售是雙贏的，因為它們為客人和團隊成員提供更好的體驗，並為加盟商提供更高的平均檢查和頻率。具有現代形象的餐廳通常也會看到更好的運營，因為它們擁有更有效率的後台佈局、新的餐廳技術和更高的團隊成員保留率。我們的團隊正在推出新的專有作業系統，以進一步簡化團隊成員和產品的後台流程，特別是在履行管道中存在多個訂單的數位時代。我們預計到 2023 年底，超過 2,000 家餐廳將擁有動態服務系統（DSS），並在未來幾年內達到 100%。我們已經在國際上看到了 DSS 的堅實成果，包括與非 DSS 餐廳相比，可比銷售額平均提高了 3%，服務速度提高了中個位數。

On menu innovation, we have a number of distinctive platforms, like plant-based, gourmet and indulgent LTOs that are a key driver for brand consideration. We take a localized approach to menu development. Like our masters du chef Burger in France, always anchored by our distinct differentiator of flame grilling. We recently hosted our international franchisees at our convention in Paris, and it was terrific to see so many of our international franchisees learning from each other and excited to help drive our next phase of growth. We're also taking a number of our key international learnings and bringing them to Burger King's home market through our reclaim the plane plan.

在菜單創新方面，我們擁有許多獨特的平台，例如植物性、美食和縱情的 LTO，它們是品牌考慮的關鍵驅動力。我們採用在地化的方法來開發菜單。就像我們法國的漢堡主廚一樣，始終以我們獨特的火焰燒烤特色為基礎。我們最近在巴黎舉辦的大會上接待了我們的國際特許經營商，很高興看到我們的許多國際特許經營商相互學習，並很高興能夠幫助推動我們下一階段的成長。我們也吸收了一些重要的國際經驗，並透過我們的飛機回收計畫將它們引入漢堡王的國內市場。

So shifting to Burger King in the U.S. In early October, we hosted our franchisees here across the U.S. and Canada at our annual convention. There was clear optimism in the room as we work with our franchisees and their team members to reclaim the flame. Together, RBK team and franchisees reviewed the brand's recent progress, including improvements in franchisee profitability and the achievement of flat traffic this quarter. But as Tom reiterated multiple times, this is progress not success. We have big aspirations and are aligned that we must be focused on the fundamentals of restaurant execution to achieve our goals. This is supported by continued growth in franchisee profitability, conviction from the franchisees to reinvest in their restaurants and the development of a new restaurant format known as Sizzle, designed collaboratively with franchisees to improve the guest -- experience for guests and team members while driving a better return for our franchisees.

因此，我們轉向美國的漢堡王。十月初，我們在美國和加拿大的年度大會上接待了我們的特許經營商。當我們與我們的特許經營商及其團隊成員一起努力奪回火焰時，房間裡充滿了明顯的樂觀情緒。 RBK 團隊和加盟商共同回顧了該品牌近期的進展，包括加盟商獲利能力的改善以及本季客流量持平的情況。但正如湯姆多次重申的那樣，這是進步而不是成功。我們有遠大的抱負，並且一致認為我們必須專注於餐廳執行的基本原則才能實現我們的目標。這得益於特許經營商盈利能力的持續增長、特許經營商對其餐廳進行再投資的信念以及名為“Sizzle”的新餐廳模式的開發，該模式與特許經營商合作設計，旨在改善客人和團隊成員的體驗，同時推動為我們的加盟商帶來更好的回報。

Turning to results for the quarter. Comparable sales increased 6.6% and system-wide sales grew 6.0% year-over-year. Our total net restaurant count declined by 2.8% year-over-year as we close older and lower-performing restaurants to support a more modern system, increasingly run by better operators. We saw flat traffic in Q3 and digital sales growth of over 40% year-over-year, resulting in a record digital sales mix of 14%, including 28% digital mix in our company-operated restaurants that have rolled out kiosks. Growth this quarter was driven by solid calendar initiatives leading into our core equities like The Whopper and You Rule and the introduction of our Royal Crispy wraps. The team's focus on operations has led to continued improvements in guest satisfaction and an increase in product satisfaction across a few key offerings, including The Whopper, nuggets and fries. By layering this with high-quality marketing and targeted menu innovation, we've been able to improve our value proposition, attract new guests, improve retention and drive our traffic gap to peers into positive territory beginning in mid-August.

轉向本季的業績。可比銷售額年增 6.6%，全系統銷售額年增 6.0%。我們的餐廳淨數量同比下降了 2.8%，因為我們關閉了老舊和業績不佳的餐廳，以支持更現代化的系統，並越來越多地由更好的運營商運營。我們看到第三季客流量持平，而數位銷售年增超過 40%，數位銷售組合達到創紀錄的 14%，其中包括我們公司經營的已推出自助服務終端的餐廳的 28% 數位組合。本季的成長是由紮實的日曆計劃推動的，這些計劃導致了我們的核心股票，如 The Whopper 和 You Rule 以及我們的 Royal Crispy 卷的推出。團隊對營運的關注不斷提高了客戶滿意度，並提高了一些主要產品的產品滿意度，包括皇堡、雞塊和薯條。透過將其與高品質的行銷和有針對性的菜單創新相結合，我們已經能夠改善我們的價值主張，吸引新客人，提高保留率，並從8 月中旬開始將我們與同行的流量差距拉入正值。

Turning now to our investment programs. As a reminder, we've committed to spending $400 million through 2024 across marketing, digital, restaurant technology and image investments. While we did not book any expenses associated with our $120 million fuel the flame advertising contribution this quarter, we've spent approximately $25 million through September 30 and are on track to spend our full commitment by the end of 2024. Matt will touch on the drivers of fuel the flame some more when he walks through our financial results. As part of our $250 million Royal reset program, we deployed $6 million this quarter towards the $50 million short-term refresh. We're in the process of deploying restaurant technology and back-of-house equipment to over 4,000 restaurants and are already seeing positive results, including improved technology stability, better guest satisfaction and higher average restaurant sales compared to restaurants without new equipment in the same DMA.

現在談談我們的投資計劃。謹此提醒，我們承諾到 2024 年在行銷、數位、餐廳技術和形象投資方面支出 4 億美元。雖然我們沒有記入與本季1.2 億美元「燃料火焰」廣告捐款相關的任何費用，但截至9 月30 日，我們已經花費了約2,500 萬美元，並且預計在2024 年底前用完我們的全部承諾。馬特將談到當他回顧我們的財務表現時，推動因素更加火上澆油。作為 2.5 億美元皇家重置計劃的一部分，我們本季部署了 600 萬美元用於 5000 萬美元的短期更新。我們正在向4,000 多家餐廳部署餐廳技術和後台設備，並且已經看到了積極的成果，包括與沒有新設備的餐廳相比，提高了技術穩定性、提高了顧客滿意度以及提高了餐廳平均銷售額。 DMA。

Within the $200 million remodel component, we are in early days, but have seen completed remodels driving uplifts and returns ahead of our initial expectations. I'm also happy to see that franchisees are leaning into quality over quantity with over 80% of committed remodels locked in as either full remodels or scrape and rebuilds, more than we originally anticipated. Over the past 12 months of our Reclaim the Flame investment, the BK team and franchisees have made great progress in positioning the brand for profitable traffic growth and a healthy reinvestment appetite. This progress and the enthusiasm we're seeing from our franchisee base gives us confidence that we're on the right path to deliver a modern system with compelling unit economics.

在 2 億美元的改造項目中，我們還處於早期階段，但已經完成的改造推動了提升和回報，超出了我們最初的預期。我還很高興地看到特許經營者更注重品質而不是數量，超過 80% 的承諾改造要么是全面改造，要么是刮掉並重建，這超出了我們最初的預期。在過去 12 個月的 Reclaim the Flame 投資中，BK 團隊和加盟商在品牌定位方面取得了巨大進展，以實現可獲利的流量成長和健康的再投資胃口。我們從特許經營商群體中看到的這一進步和熱情讓我們相信，我們正走在正確的道路上，提供具有令人信服的單位經濟效益的現代化系統。

Turning now to Popeyes. Popeyes U.S. grew same-store sales by 5.6% and net restaurants 5.0%, driving system-wide sales growth of 11%. Comparable sales were driven by continued strength of the sandwich platform and our newest menu innovation, Ghost Pepper Wings, which also helped the business achieve a record digital sales mix of approximately 25% in its highest levels of chicken QSR traffic share in over 2 years. We recently built on our successful Ghost Pepper Wings launch with the addition of our new sweet and spicy wings. These Ghost Pepper Wings tossed in a sweet and Savory sauce have become the most popular menu items since we launched the Chicken Sandwich and have driven traffic across new and existing guests in addition to driving add-on to tickets.

現在轉向大力水手。 Popeyes 美國同店銷售額成長 5.6%，淨餐廳銷售額成長 5.0%，帶動全系統銷售額成長 11%。三明治平台的持續強勢和我們最新的菜單創新Ghost Pepper Wings 推動了可比銷售額，這也幫助該公司在雞肉QSR 流量份額中實現了創紀錄的數位銷售組合，約25%，為兩年多來的最高水平。我們最近在成功推出鬼椒雞翅的基礎上，又增加了新的甜辣雞翅。自從我們推出雞肉三明治以來，這些拌有甜味和鹹味醬汁的鬼椒雞翅已成為最受歡迎的菜單項，除了吸引附加門票外，還吸引了新老客人的客流量。

From an operations perspective, we are in the preliminary stages of implementing various initiatives, including a simplified and more efficient kitchen layout. A few Popeyes U.S. restaurants are piloting easy-to-run kitchens, which feature integrated production lines and simplified processes modelled after our international stores. We're encouraged by the early feedback from team members as we look to optimize the layout and build a strong proof of concept. Popeyes has substantial opportunities to add more modern, digitally enabled restaurants with easy-to-run features to its existing restaurant base and close the convenience gap. As we close this gap, we're prioritizing and incentivizing growth with top-tier existing and new operators in attractive locations across North America. I'm confident that these priorities will enable a better team member and guest experience, which will ultimately help drive franchise profitability and sales over the long term.

從營運角度來看，我們正處於實施各種措施的初步階段，包括簡化和更有效率的廚房佈局。一些 Popeyes 美國餐廳正在試行易於操作的廚房，其特點是模仿我們的國際商店的整合生產線和簡化流程。當我們尋求優化佈局並建立強有力的概念證明時，我們對團隊成員的早期回饋感到鼓舞。 Popeyes 有大量機會在其現有餐廳基礎上添加更多現代化、數位化且具有易於營運功能的餐廳，並縮小便利性差距。當我們縮小這一差距時，我們將優先考慮並激勵北美地區有吸引力的地區的頂級現有和新營運商的成長。我相信這些優先事項將為團隊成員和賓客帶來更好的體驗，最終將有助於推動特許經營的長期盈利和銷售。

Finally, Firehouse Subs, which grew home market comparable sales 3.9% and increased system-wide sales by 6.6%. At Firehouse, we have delicious subs, great franchisees and lots of excitement to grow the brand. We continue to strengthen our long-term outlook by building strong home market and international development pipelines. In the U.S., Mike and team launched a development incentive program for franchisees, offering them a great opportunity to grow in key markets over the next few years. Internationally, we signed agreements to open more than 100 restaurants over the next 10 years across the UAE and along, and we expect to open our first restaurant in Mexico by the end of this year. The team did an amazing job developing a beautiful visual identity for the Firehouse International business. I had the chance to see it firsthand in Switzerland, and it made me even more excited about the overseas opportunity for this brand.

最後是 Firehouse Subs，其國內市場可比銷售額成長了 3.9%，全系統銷售額成長了 6.6%。在 Firehouse，我們擁有美味的潛水艇、優秀的特許經營商以及品牌發展的巨大動力。我們透過建立強大的國內市場和國際開發管道，持續強化我們的長期前景。在美國，麥克和團隊為加盟商推出了一項發展激勵計劃，為他們提供了未來幾年在主要市場發展的絕佳機會。在國際上，我們簽署了未來 10 年內在阿聯酋及週邊地區開設 100 多家餐廳的協議，預計今年年底在墨西哥開設第一家餐廳。團隊在為 Firehouse International 業務開發漂亮的視覺形象方面做得非常出色。我有機會在瑞士親眼目睹它，這讓我對這個品牌的海外機會更加興奮。

We are also growing brand awareness in the U.S. and recently showcased Firehouse Subs on NFL programming for the first time, giving national recognition to Firehouse and its hardy subs. The team is also committed to providing a great digital experience and delivering meaningful functionality upgrades to our app, which resulted in much faster load times and a better user experience, helping drive Q3 digital sales mix to 37%. I'm proud of the progress Mike and team are making across development, digital and menu innovation. And I am most pleased to see this translating into improving home market franchisee profitability, which is on track to grow significantly in 2023.

我們也在美國提高品牌知名度，最近首次在 NFL 節目中展示了 Firehouse 替補，讓 Firehouse 及其頑強的替補獲得了全國認可。該團隊還致力於提供出色的數位體驗，並為我們的應用程式提供有意義的功能升級，從而實現更快的載入時間和更好的用戶體驗，幫助將第三季的數位銷售組合提高到37 %。我為麥克和團隊在開發、數位化和菜單創新方面取得的進步感到自豪。我很高興看到這轉化為國內市場特許經營商盈利能力的提高，預計在 2023 年大幅增長。

Before I hand it over to Matt, I'd like to share that I'm about 9 months into this new role, and I've been assessing how we plan to manage the business across brands and geographies going forward. As a result, we are evaluating making changes to our segments, including potentially reporting our international business separate from our home market businesses. You can expect to receive more information on this in the next month or so. Now I'll turn it over to Matt to discuss our financial results for the quarter. Matt?

在將其交給 Matt 之前，我想告訴大家，我擔任這一新職位已經大約 9 個月了，我一直在評估我們計劃如何管理未來跨品牌和跨地區的業務。因此，我們正在評估對我們的部門進行改變，包括可能將我們的國際業務與我們的國內市場業務分開報告。您預計將在下個月左右收到更多相關資訊。現在我將把它交給馬特討論我們本季的財務表現。馬特？

Thanks, Josh. Good morning, everyone. For the third quarter, our global system-wide sales grew 10.9% year-over-year, and our organic adjusted EBITDA grew 9.3%, while our adjusted EPS was down 5.6% organically as we lapped a large discrete noncash tax benefit in Q3 of last year. The primary driver of the difference between systemwide sales growth and organic adjusted EBITDA growth was a 2% year-over-year organic decline in gross profit in our Tim Hortons sales minus cost of sales. While we've continued to see healthy underlying traffic growth at Tims in Canada, which is the primary driver of sales growth for the supply chain, there are timing dynamics impacting our second half year-over-year gross profit comparisons.

謝謝，喬許。大家，早安。第三季度，我們的全球全系統銷售額年增10.9%，調整後的有機EBITDA 成長9.3%，而調整後的每股盈餘有機下降5.6%，因為我們在第三季度享受了大量離散非現金稅收優惠。去年。全系統銷售成長與有機調整後 EBITDA 成長之間差異的主要驅動因素是 Tim Hortons 銷售毛利減去銷售成本後較去年同期有機下降 2%。雖然我們繼續看到加拿大 Tims 的潛在流量健康成長，這是供應鏈銷售成長的主要驅動力，但時間動態影響了我們下半年的年比毛利比較。

As a reminder, we typically pass through commodity pricing semi-annually. And last year, we passed through second half pricing in early Q3, while commodity prices were still increasing quite significantly. This dynamic drove a benefit to our Q3 '22 gross profit dollars, which then reverts to a headwind for Q4 '22, given the higher cost of sales base. In addition, our Q3 adjusted EBITDA growth benefited slightly from the lapping of nearly $6 million of net bad debt expense in Q3 '22 as compared to $2 million of net recoveries this quarter. Looking ahead, we are expecting roughly $10 million of net bad debt expense in Q4 '23, predominantly related to Burger King U.S. As you know, we have been working closely with franchisees to transition restaurant portfolios into the hands of strong local operators. Over the past few quarters, we prioritized the most distressed situations, closing unviable restaurants and cleaning up a number of portfolios. We expect to largely finalize the remainder of those workouts and closures by end of year, resulting in elevated bad debt for Q4, but with the benefit of a much-improved foundation entering 2024.

提醒一下，我們通常每半年進行一次商品定價。去年，我們在第三季初就通過了下半年定價，而大宗商品價格仍然大幅上漲。這種動態為我們的 22 年第三季毛利帶來了好處，但由於銷售基礎成本較高，22 年第四季毛利又轉為逆風。此外，我們第三季調整後的 EBITDA 成長略微受益於 22 年第三季近 600 萬美元的淨壞帳費用，而本季的淨壞帳費用為 200 萬美元。展望未來，我們預計23 年第4 季的淨壞帳費用約為1000 萬美元，主要與美國漢堡王有關。如您所知，我們一直在與特許經營商密切合作，將餐廳組合轉移到強大的當地運營商手中。在過去的幾個季度中，我們優先考慮最困難的情況，關閉了無法生存的餐廳並清理了一些投資組合。我們預計將在年底前基本完成剩餘的重組和關閉工作，導致第四季度的壞帳增加，但進入 2024 年的基礎將大大改善。

Now turning to G&A. Our segment G&A came in at $108 million, up 8% year-over-year. For Q4, we anticipate a similar year-over-year rate of segment G&A growth, largely driven by higher performance-based compensation and technology-related expenses. Finally, I'd like to discuss our Q3 fuel the flame spend at Burger King U.S. As Josh mentioned, this quarter, we did not contribute incremental advertising fund dollars as we were able to fund our marketing plans out of our baseline ad fund. Strong year-to-date results, cost optimization and seasonally lower cost per ad in the summer months allowed us to preserve fuel the flame firepower while still increasing our share of voice year-over-year.

現在轉向一般行政費用。我們的部門 G&A 營收為 1.08 億美元，年增 8%。對於第四季度，我們預計分部 G&A 成長率將出現類似的年成長，這主要是由於基於績效的薪酬和技術相關費用的提高。最後，我想討論我們第三季在美國漢堡王的支出。正如喬希所提到的，本季我們沒有貢獻增量廣告基金資金，因為我們能夠從基準廣告基金中為我們的行銷計劃提供資金。年初至今的強勁業績、成本優化以及夏季每個廣告成本的季節性降低使我們能夠保持火力，同時仍逐年增加我們的話語權份額。

Looking ahead, we currently anticipate our Q4 contribution will be around $35 million due to seasonally higher cost per ad, coupled with a pickup in other nonmedia expenses in the baseline ad fund to support our forward marketing calendar. While this will be our largest quarterly contribution to date, I note that Q4 BK U.S. media spend is expected to increase less year-over-year than it did in Q3, given we will be lapping the start of our investments from Q4 2022.

展望未來，我們目前預計第四季的貢獻約為3500 萬美元，原因是每個廣告的成本季節性較高，加上基準廣告基金中其他非媒體費用的增加，以支持我們的遠期行銷日曆。雖然這將是我們迄今為止最大的季度貢獻，但我注意到，鑑於我們將從 2022 年第四季開始投資，預計第四季度 BK 美國媒體支出的同比增幅預計將低於第三季。

Shifting to EPS. Our third quarter adjusted earnings per share was $0.90 compared to $0.96 last year, representing an organic decline of 5.6% year-over-year, excluding an FX headwind of 1% or about $0.01 per share. As I mentioned, our Q3 '22 adjusted EPS included a $0.10 benefit related to discrete noncash tax items. Excluding this, our Q3 '22 adjusted earnings per share would have been $0.86 compared to $0.90 this quarter, representing an organic increase of approximately 6%. Our adjusted net income was also impacted by higher equity-based compensation of $49 million. Given our underlying business performance year-to-date, we now expect 2023 equity-based compensation to be between $195 million and $200 million and anticipate some moderate growth off this space in 2024.

轉向每股收益。我們第三季調整後每股收益為 0.90 美元，而去年為 0.96 美元，有機年減 5.6%，不包括 1% 的外匯阻力，即每股約 0.01 美元。正如我所提到的，我們的 22 年第三季調整後每股收益包括與離散非現金稅收項目相關的 0.10 美元收益。排除這一點，我們 22 年第三季調整後每股收益將為 0.86 美元，而本季為 0.90 美元，有機成長約 6%。我們調整後的淨利潤也受到 4,900 萬美元股權薪酬上漲的影響。鑑於我們今年迄今的基本業務表現，我們現在預計 2023 年股權薪酬將在 1.95 億美元至 2 億美元之間，並預計 2024 年這一領域將出現適度增長。

Turning to capital structure and cash flow. In September, we refinanced $6.5 billion worth of term loans, representing roughly 50% of our debt for a blended increase in our spread of 30 basis points, while extending the maturities of our $1.3 billion term loan A to 2028 and our $5.2 billion term loan B to 2030. We also use this opportunity to further improve liquidity by expanding our revolver capacity from $1 billion to $1.25 billion. This successful transaction derisks our capital structure at a marginal cost and adds valuable runway and capital allocation flexibility to deliver on our plans over the next 5 years. Our Q4 results will reflect a full quarter of the increase in our spread as well as the impact of recent increases in risk-free rates. Our free cash flow this quarter was $408 million, allowing us to continue investing behind our key capital allocation priorities, including strategic investments in our brands such as Reclaim the Flame, maintaining and growing our strong dividend and repurchasing shares, all while delevering toward our mid-4x net leverage goal.

轉向資本結構和現金流。 9 月份，我們為價值65 億美元的定期貸款進行了再融資，約占我們債務的50%，利差混合增加了30 個基點，同時將13 億美元定期貸款A 和52 億美元定期貸款的期限延長至2028 年B 到 2030 年。我們也利用這個機會，將我們的左輪產能從 10 億美元擴大到 12.5 億美元，進一步改善流動性。這次成功的交易以邊際成本降低了我們的資本結構風險，並增加了寶貴的跑道和資本配置靈活性，以實現我們未來 5 年的計劃。我們第四季的業績將反映整個季度利差的成長以及近期無風險利率上升的影響。本季我們的自由現金流為4.08 億美元，使我們能夠繼續投資於我們的關鍵資本配置優先事項，包括對Reclaim the Flame 等品牌的戰略投資、維持和增加我們強勁的股息以及回購股票，同時向我們的中期去槓桿化。-4x 淨槓桿目標。

Our free cash flow this quarter was impacted by $11 million of Reclaim the Flame investments at BK US, primarily related to Royal Reset. In addition, we saw higher cash interest due to the flow-through of increased market rates to the 20% of our debt that is not fixed. As a reminder, through our hedging activity over the past few years, we've locked in approximately 80% of our debt at fixed rates through 2028, and our free cash flow metric does not reflect the benefit of our FX and interest rate hedges, which added approximately $49 million of positive cash flow in Q3. During the quarter, we returned approximately $360 million of capital to shareholders through our dividend and share repurchases and declared our Q4 dividend of $0.55 per common share in unit, consistent with our target of $2.20 per share for the full year.

本季我們的自由現金流受到 BK US 1,100 萬美元 Reclaim the Flame 投資的影響，主要與 Royal Reset 有關。此外，由於市場利率上升，導致我們 20% 的不固定債務流動，因此我們看到了更高的現金利息。提醒一下，透過過去幾年的對沖活動，到 2028 年，我們已經以固定利率鎖定了大約 80% 的債務，而我們的自由現金流指標並沒有反映我們的外匯和利率對沖的好處，第三季度增加了約4900 萬美元的正現金流。本季度，我們透過股息和股票回購向股東返還了約 3.6 億美元的資本，並宣布第四季度股息為每股普通股 0.55 美元，這與我們全年每股 2.20 美元的目標一致。

Following our successful refinancing, we decided to utilize a portion of our $1 billion share repurchase authorization, retiring approximately 1.7 million shares of common stock for $115 million prior to quarter end. Moreover, given our confidence in the strength of our business, we instituted a 10b5-1 plan that allowed us to continue repurchasing shares during our blackout period. As a result, in October, we repurchased and retired an additional 5.9 million shares of our common stock for $385 million. As of October 31, we had $500 million of capacity remaining on our repurchase authorization. Even with the resumption of share repurchases in September, we ended the quarter with available liquidity of over $2.5 billion, including $1.3 billion of cash on hand, and our adjusted EBITDA net leverage ratio was 4.8x with a clear path to reach our target of the mid-4x level before the end of next year. With that, I'll hand it over to Patrick for some additional thoughts on the business.

成功再融資後，我們決定利用 10 億美元股票回購授權的一部分，在季度末前以 1.15 億美元的價格回購約 170 萬股普通股。此外，鑑於我們對業務實力的信心，我們制定了 10b5-1 計劃，使我們能夠在禁售期內繼續回購股票。因此，我們在 10 月以 3.85 億美元的價格回購並退役了另外 590 萬股普通股。截至 10 月 31 日，我們的回購授權中剩餘產能為 5 億美元。即使9 月恢復股票回購，我們在本季末的可用流動性仍超過25 億美元，其中包括13 億美元的手頭現金，調整後的EBITDA 淨槓桿率4.8 倍，有明確的途徑實現我們的目標明年底前達到 4 倍中期水準。至此，我將把它交給帕特里克，讓他對業務進行一些額外的思考。

Thanks, Matt, and thank you all for joining us this morning. This time last year, I was finalizing my own investment thesis, ahead of making my equity purchase in RBI. I was clearly excited about the opportunity last November. And looking back now, I can say I am far more bullish today than I was a year ago. While we haven't gotten everything right this year, and frankly, we won't always get everything right, we've made a ton of progress moving each of our businesses in the right direction. I've spent the past year assessing our brands, our teams, our franchisees and our capital allocation priorities. We have 4 amazing brands in the largest and fastest-growing QSR segments globally, burgers, chicken, coffee and sandwiches. Each offers guests convenience, great value and the best food and beverages in their respective categories, and each is well positioned to succeed in various consumer environments.

謝謝馬特，也謝謝大家今天早上加入我們。去年的這個時候，在購買印度儲備銀行的股票之前，我正在敲定自己的投資論文。去年 11 月我對這個機會顯然感到很興奮。現在回想起來，我可以說我今天比一年前更樂觀。雖然今年我們並沒有把所有事情都做好，而且坦白說，我們也不會總是把所有事情做好，但我們已經取得了很大進展，使我們的每項業務都朝著正確的方向發展。在過去的一年裡，我一直在評估我們的品牌、我們的團隊、我們的特許經營者和我們的資本配置優先事項。我們在全球最大、成長最快的速食領域擁有 4 個令人驚嘆的品牌：漢堡、雞肉、咖啡和三明治。每家酒店都為客人提供各自類別中的便利、物超所值和最好的食品和飲料，並且每家酒店都處於有利地位，能夠在各種消費環境中取得成功。

We have talented teams leading these brands with a winning combination of industry veterans and homegrown RBI talent. These teams are focused on clear priorities, delivering the highest quality products, running great restaurants, being a great resource to our franchisees, driving profitable traffic and delivering compelling unit economics. We have many dedicated ambitious and diverse franchisees aligned with our vision for growth. These franchisees span multi-market, multi-brand, international master franchisees all the way down to single restaurant operators. And we have a resilient business model that generates a ton of free cash flow, providing us with plenty of flexibility to invest for growth while returning capital to shareholders. To me, these are key ingredients for success, but to really succeed. It all comes down to driving consistently positive traffic and higher franchisee profitability. While we've definitely improved in both these areas to really get where we want to be long term, we need to execute against the key priorities at each of our businesses.

我們擁有領導這些品牌的才華橫溢的團隊，由業界資深人士和本土 RBI 人才組成的成功組合。這些團隊專注於明確的優先事項，提供最優質的產品，經營一流的餐廳，成為我們特許經營商的重要資源，推動獲利流量並提供令人信服的單位經濟效益。我們擁有許多雄心勃勃且多元化的加盟商，與我們的發展願景保持一致。這些特許經營商涵蓋多市場、多品牌、國際主特許經營商，一直到單一餐廳經營者。我們擁有彈性的商業模式，可以產生大量的自由現金流，為我們提供足夠的靈活性來投資成長，同時向股東返還資本。對我來說，這些都是成功的關鍵要素，也是真正成功的關鍵要素。這一切都歸結於持續推動積極的客流量和更高的加盟商獲利能力。雖然我們在這兩個領域都取得了明顯的進步，以真正實現我們想要的長期目標，但我們需要根據每項業務的關鍵優先事項來執行。

At Tim Hortons Canada, excellent team and our dedicated restaurant owners continue to expand our high-quality PM food offerings and grow our cold and specialty beverage portfolios. They're already making great progress taking share in these key growth categories while maintaining our market share in coffee, breakfast and baked goods, and they're doing all of this while improving restaurant throughput and providing unbeatable value and convenience for Canadians. I have no doubt the team is on the right path to drive long-term growth for this amazing loved brand in Canada.

在 Tim Hortons Canada，優秀的團隊和敬業的餐廳老闆不斷擴大我們的高品質 PM 食品供應，並擴大我們的冷飲和特色飲料產品組合。他們已經在這些關鍵增長類別中取得了巨大進步，同時保持了我們在咖啡、早餐和烘焙食品方面的市場份額，他們在做這一切的同時，還提高了餐廳的吞吐量，並為加拿大人提供了無與倫比的價值和便利。我毫不懷疑該團隊正走在正確的道路上，推動這個在加拿大深受喜愛的品牌的長期成長。

At Burger King in the U.S., Tom, team and franchisees are focused on operational execution and image modernization. We're 1 year into the Reclaim the Flame plan and have, frankly, made more progress improving franchisee profitability and traffic in this 1 year than originally expected. We've also taken difficult but important steps this year to work through several distressed situations with franchisees and reposition restaurants into the hands of stronger local operators. As Matt mentioned, I think we will have addressed the bulk of these situations by year-end, and I'm happy with the outcomes we have driven thus far. We are taking a victory lap by any means. And for the year ahead, we're focused on further improving operations in our highest traffic service mode, the drive-thru, getting the remodel engine, running to modernize our asset base and driving positive traffic growth. Getting the brand where we know it can and should be, will not happen overnight. This is a multiyear journey, but I attended my first BK convention in October and part of my optimism for this business is the alignment I'm seeing with our franchisees. I'm very confident in our ability to succeed and look forward to updating you on our progress along the way.

在美國漢堡王，湯姆、團隊和加盟商專注於營運執行和形象現代化。我們的「回收火焰」計畫已經實施一年了，坦白說，這一年在提高加盟商獲利能力和流量方面取得的進展比最初預期的要多。今年我們也採取了困難但重要的步驟，與特許經營商一起解決一些困境，並將餐廳重新定位到更強大的當地經營者手中。正如馬特所提到的，我認為我們將在年底前解決大部分問題，我對我們迄今為止所取得的成果感到滿意。無論如何，我們都在邁出勝利的一步。在未來的一年裡，我們的重點是進一步改善最高流量服務模式（得來速）的運營，獲得改造引擎，運行以實現資產基礎現代化，並推動流量的積極成長。讓品牌達到我們認為可以而且應該達到的水平，這不可能一蹴可幾。這是一個多年的旅程，但我在 10 月參加了我的第一次 BK 大會，我對這項業務的樂觀部分是因為我看到與我們的特許經營商的合作。我對我們成功的能力充滿信心，並期待向您通報我們一路走來的最新進展。

At Popeyes in the U.S., Sami and team are executing Easy to Love, a multiyear plan focused on elevating the brand's menu offerings, operations and restaurant development. I'm really excited about what the team has delivered this year from becoming the #2 chicken QSR player in the U.S. through the introduction of our Ghost Pepper wings and the development of our easy-to-run kitchen pilots. We still have a long way to get closer to that #1 position, but I truly believe if we can make Popeyes easier to run for team members, we can drive more throughput in our restaurants, offer guests a better experience and start chipping away at that gap.

在美國 Popeyes，Sami 和團隊正在執行 Easy to Love，這是一項多年計劃，重點是提升品牌的菜單供應、營運和餐廳發展。我對團隊今年所取得的成就感到非常興奮，透過推出 Ghost Pepper 雞翅和開發易於操作的廚房飛行員，成為美國排名第二的雞肉 QSR 玩家。我們距離第一的位置還有很長的路要走，但我堅信，如果我們能讓Popeyes 更容易為團隊成員運營，我們就可以提高餐廳的吞吐量，為客人提供更好的體驗，並開始努力那個差距。

At Firehouse U.S., Mike and team are all in on their goal to build a ton of restaurants with quality franchisees. I see no reason why we can't be opening a couple of hundred Firehouse subs per year in the U.S. over time and expect to see the pipeline start to ramp next year. As we look overseas, David and team continue building long-term development pipelines with well-capitalized and ambitious master franchise partners. Over the years, we've developed global infrastructure that clearly distinguishes us from many other QSR players and allows us to introduce our brands to new markets. What's even more exciting to me is the fact that each of our brands, Tims, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse is in a different stage of development around the world, meaning we have plenty of runway for growth for decades to come. And having just attended my first BK International Convention in France a couple of weeks ago, along with having visited a number of other markets, I couldn't be more excited about the strength of this business. As Josh mentioned before, we're looking for opportunities to peel the onion back on this exciting high-growth part of our business. More to come later this year.

在 Firehouse U.S.，麥克和團隊致力於建立大量擁有優質特許經營商的餐廳。我認為隨著時間的推移，我們沒有理由不能每年在美國開設幾百個 Firehouse 潛艇，並預計明年管道數量將開始增加。當我們放眼海外時，大衛和團隊繼續與資本充足且雄心勃勃的主特許經營合作夥伴建立長期發展管道。多年來，我們開發了全球基礎設施，使我們與許多其他 QSR 參與者明顯區分開來，並使我們能夠將我們的品牌引入新市場。更讓我興奮的是，我們的每個品牌，Tims、漢堡王、Popeyes 和 Firehouse 在全球都處於不同的發展階段，這意味著我們在未來幾十年有足夠的成長空間。幾週前，我剛剛參加了在法國舉行的第一次 BK 國際會議，並參觀了許多其他市場，我對這項業務的實力感到非常興奮。正如喬希之前提到的，我們正在尋找機會在我們業務的這個令人興奮的高成長部分中剝離洋蔥。今年晚些時候還會有更多內容。

To wrap up, I have a ton of confidence in our teams, our franchisees and our long-term outlook. In fact, in August, we went to our board asking for a share repurchase authorization. And as Matt discussed, we put it to work pretty quickly over the past 2 months to reduce our share count at attractive prices. It's appropriate for you to take this as a reflection of our optimism and my personal optimism in the value being created here over the next few years. I'm really excited about the progress we've been making. But trust me, I know there is still a lot more we can do to accelerate development, drive traffic and grow franchisee profitability. I'd like to thank you all again for joining us this morning and for your support. Now I'll hand it over to the operator to take your questions.

總而言之，我對我們的團隊、特許經營者和我們的長期前景充滿信心。事實上，在八月份，我們向董事會要求股票回購授權。正如馬特所討論的，我們在過去兩個月中很快就開始發揮作用，以有吸引力的價格減少了我們的股票數量。您可以將此視為我們的樂觀態度以及我個人對未來幾年在這裡創造的價值的樂觀態度的反映。我對我們所取得的進展感到非常興奮。但請相信我，我知道我們仍然可以做很多事情來加速發展、增加流量和提高加盟商的獲利能力。我要再次感謝大家今天早上加入我們並給予我們支持。現在我將把它交給接線員回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Dennis Geiger with UBS.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 UBS 的 Dennis Geiger。

Josh, I appreciate your commentary on unit development and the return to 5% plus next year. And then I think, Patrick, you kind of spoke to confidence in the opportunities as well looking ahead. Just wondering if you could speak a bit more to that global unit growth opportunity looking ahead over the next several years as some of the pressures maybe that you've seen over the last couple of years roll off. And then really that potential across brands and markets that you spoke to comes into view a bit more over the coming years.

喬什，我很欣賞你對單位發展和明年回報率超過 5% 的評論。然後我想，派崔克，你談到了對機會和未來的信心。只是想知道您是否可以多談談未來幾年的全球單位成長機會，因為您在過去幾年中看到的一些壓力可能會逐漸減輕。然後，您談到的跨品牌和市場的潛力在未來幾年會更加明顯。

Hi Dennis, good morning and thanks so much for the question. Yes, as we mentioned a little bit earlier, there are a lot of reasons we're pretty excited about where we can go on unit development and why we're confident in that 5% plus. So I'll take through a few of them. I think the first clear one is just stabilizing the unit count at Burger King in the U.S. That will be a bit of a drag this year in 2023. And I think what we're seeing in the business between sales consistently growing, now having stable traffic that will look to turn to positive over time. And franchise profitability probably most important of all, which is really moving back in the right direction. That starts to give us a bit more visibility into being able to stabilize the unit count next year and beyond. So we think that's a big driver in terms of where we can -- how we can evolve the net restaurant growth globally.

嗨丹尼斯，早安，非常感謝你的提問。是的，正如我們之前提到的，有很多原因讓我們對單元開發的方向感到非常興奮，以及為什麼我們對 5% 以上充滿信心。所以我將介紹其中的一些。我認為第一個明確的目標是穩定美國漢堡王的單位數量。這將在 2023 年對今年造成一些拖累。我認為我們在銷售額持續增長和現在穩定之間看到的業務隨著時間的推移，流量將會轉為正值。特許經營盈利能力可能是最重要的，這確實正在回到正確的方向。這讓我們對明年及以後能夠穩定單位數量有了更多的了解。因此，我們認為這是我們能夠在哪裡——如何推動全球餐廳淨成長的一個重要推動力。

I think there's -- another factor is Burger King in China. That one -- that's been more stable in terms of unit count for the last couple of years, and we're starting to see the pace of unit growth there pick up. So we're seeing more progress there this year than we saw last year, and we look forward to a good year-end. So we feel like we're making some progress with Burger King in China, which helps as well. And then I'd say the next big part of the equation is Firehouse around the world, but particularly in the U.S. and Canada. Mike and the team have done a great job in improving the unit economics this year. We're seeing franchise profitability moving in the right direction. And we put in place a pretty comprehensive development incentive program. We've had tremendous interest from our franchisees and that gives us a lot of confidence in what FIREHOUSE can do in the U.S.

我認為還有一個因素是漢堡王在中國。過去幾年，單位數量更加穩定，我們開始看到那裡的單位成長速度加快。因此，我們今年看到的進展比去年更多，我們期待著一個美好的年底。所以我們覺得漢堡王在中國取得了一些進展，這也有幫助。然後我想說，這個等式的下一個重要部分是世界各地的 Firehouse，特別是在美國和加拿大。麥克和他的團隊今年在提高單位經濟效益方面做得非常出色。我們看到特許經營獲利能力正朝著正確的方向發展。我們制定了相當全面的發展激勵計畫。我們的加盟商對我們表現出極大的興趣，這讓我們對 FIREHOUSE 在美國的業務充滿信心。

We're also doing a lot in Canada. It's a big driver of growth. We have a fantastic business in Ontario. I was there visiting restaurants just last week with Mike and the team, and they operate really well. And we're going to open in a lot of new provinces across Canada here in just the next few weeks. So we're really excited to bring Firehouse to Western Canada in particular, and that will be a big driver for next year. The last big piece I would mention is taking the brands to new markets around the world, particularly some of the newer brands.

我們在加拿大也做了很多事。這是成長的重要推動力。我們在安大略省的業務非常出色。上週我和麥克和團隊一起去了那裡的餐館，他們經營得非常好。在接下來的幾週內，我們將在加拿大各地的許多新省份開設分店。因此，我們非常高興能夠將 Firehouse 特別帶到加拿大西部，這將是明年的一大推動力。我要提到的最後一件大事是將品牌帶到世界各地的新市場，特別是一些較新的品牌。

So Tims has been ramping up pretty meaningfully. You probably saw that in some of the international materials that we put out a month or 2 ago. But Popeyes is really doing tremendously well, too. We've got a bunch of great markets. We have some new markets that are doing really well. We were just in France actually a few weeks ago, and Patrick and I had a chance to see some of the new Popeyes restaurants. The product is incredible. The image is great. The digital experience is very special. We do all kiosks and table services. So there's a lot of reasons that we're seeing for the new brands to ramp up their pace of growth, too. And I think that gives you a lot of ways to get to a higher number. I think that's the great side of it. We probably won't get them all right. But I think there's a lot of reasons that we're confident that we're going to get to that higher growth rate.

所以蒂姆斯的進步非常有意義。您可能在一兩個月前我們發布的一些國際資料中看到了這一點。但大力水手也確實做得非常好。我們有很多很棒的市場。我們有一些表現非常好的新市場。實際上幾週前我們剛剛在法國，帕特里克和我有機會參觀了一些新開的 Popeyes 餐廳。該產品令人難以置信。圖像很棒。數位體驗非常特別。我們提供所有售貨亭和餐桌服務。因此，我們也看到新品牌加快成長​​速度的原因有很多。我認為這為你提供了很多方法來獲得更高的數字。我認為這是它偉大的一面。我們可能無法讓他們一切順利。但我認為有很多理由讓我們有信心達到更高的成長率。

We now turn to Brian Bittner with Oppenheimer.

現在我們轉向布萊恩比特納和奧本海默。

My question relates to Burger King U.S. and your plan to spend $150 million on advertising in digital by the end of '24. You've only spent $33 million of this so far. So you have almost $120 million left to spend over the next 5 quarters. And I think you talked in your prepared remarks about how you preserved a lot of firepower. Was that the plan all along to preserve the firepower, the way you have? And as you deploy it moving forward, should we expect it to support a new advertising campaign? Or should we expect you to double down on what's been working?

我的問題涉及美國漢堡王以及您計劃在 24 年底之前花費 1.5 億美元用於數位廣告。到目前為止，您只花了 3300 萬美元。因此，您在接下來的 5 個季度中還剩下近 1.2 億美元的支出。我想你在準備好的發言中談到如何保留大量火力。這就是你們一直以來為保留火力而製定的計劃嗎？當您繼續部署它時，我們是否應該期望它支援新的廣告活動？或者我們應該期望您加倍努力？

Yes, Brian. Thanks for the question. You're right. We have spent a little bit less of it period to date than maybe the average over the full period would be. And as Matt mentioned in some of his prepared remarks, we do expect to ramp up the pace of spending into Q4 and next year. I wouldn't say that, that was any particular strategy. It's just the way that the advertising spending and different campaigns have laid out. I think as you look into next year, of course, we'll have some new stuff coming. We'll have some exciting new products. We'll definitely have some new campaigns. But I think you can probably expect that a lot of those will continue to be focused on our core equities. We think that Burger King has some really special things about it between the Whopper, Flame Grilling and Have it Your Way. And while we'll always bring kind of new twist on things, I think you can expect more focus on a lot of those core equities from us.

是的，布萊恩。謝謝你的提問。你說得對。到目前為止，我們花費的時間比整個時期的平均花費要少一些。正如馬特在他準備好的一些演講中提到的那樣，我們確實預計第四季和明年將加快支出步伐。我不會這麼說，那是任何特定的策略。這就是廣告支出和不同活動的佈局方式。我認為，當你展望明年時，我們當然會推出一些新東西。我們將推出一些令人興奮的新產品。我們肯定會有一些新的活動。但我認為你可能會期望其中很多會繼續關注我們的核心股票。我們認為漢堡王在皇堡、火焰燒烤和隨心所欲之間有一些非常特別的東西。雖然我們總是會帶來一些新的變化，但我認為你可以期待我們更專注於這些核心股票。

We now turn to David Palmer with Evercore ISI.

現在我們請來 Evercore ISI 的 David Palmer。

Thanks. On Burger King U.S., I think this is probably the biggest hangup for investors on the stock. And I was wondering if maybe Josh, you and Patrick want to talk about that a little bit in the brand turnaround. Obviously, half the assets probably are pretty outdated, maybe very outdated in the U.S. and that seems like a big disadvantage versus direct peers that have gone through their reimaging cycles already. So obviously, that makes people think, maybe doubt the sustainability of a brand turnaround into '24. And maybe you could talk about that. And then obviously, building costs and interest rates are higher. So perhaps you can give a sense maybe the long-term sense about the pace that you think you could affect the turnaround of the assets.

謝謝。對美國漢堡王來說，我認為這可能是投資人對該股最大的困擾。我想知道喬許、你和派崔克是否想在品牌轉型過程中討論一下這個問題。顯然，一半的資產可能相當過時，在美國可能非常過時，與已經經歷過重新映像週期的直接同行相比，這似乎是一個很大的劣勢。顯然，這讓人們思考，也許懷疑品牌轉型到 24 世紀的可持續性。也許你可以談談這個。顯然，建築成本和利率更高。因此，也許您可以對您認為可能影響資產週轉率的速度給出長期的感覺。

Thanks, Dave. Appreciate the question. And certainly, Bring U.S. is a big focus for us and for Tom and the team. And I think Tom and the team are doing a really great job. We mentioned a little bit earlier. We just had our convention here in Miami, had all the franchisees together. And everybody really feels the progress being made. I think there's been a big change in sentiment and support and confidence across that business. A couple of the things that are helping me feel more confident about it. One of them, which we mentioned here earlier is the same-store traffic. And if you go back over the last year, we were pretty meaningfully behind where the industry was. And we've systematically narrowed that gap to where we got it back to flat. And now in the past couple of months, we're actually performing above the industry in terms of same-store traffic. So I think you're seeing very clear evidence on some of the most important KPIs that what the team is doing is working.

謝謝，戴夫。感謝這個問題。當然，Bring U.S. 是我們以及 Tom 和團隊的一大關注點。我認為湯姆和他的團隊做得非常好。我們之前提到過。我們剛剛在邁阿密召開了大會，所有加盟商都聚集在一起。每個人都真正感受到正在取得的進步。我認為整個行業的情緒、支持和信心發生了巨大變化。有幾件事讓我對此更有信心。其中之一就是我們之前提到的同店流量。如果你回顧過去一年，我們明顯落後於該行業。我們已經有系統地縮小了差距，使其恢復到持平狀態。在過去的幾個月裡，我們的同店客流量實際上高於行業。因此，我認為您在一些最重要的 KPI 上看到了非常明確的證據，表明團隊正在做的事情正在發揮作用。

In terms of the assets, we definitely need to get to a more modern asset base. The way I framed it, I think basically every Burger King that you see across the U.S., it needs to be modern, convenient and competitive across the country. What gives me confidence there is that we're seeing good results initially from the remodel. So those uplifts are above where we expected. And that means the returns are starting to work. And I think that's really important for us and for the franchisees. And on top of that, we're seeing a lot of momentum in franchisee profitability, and that has benefits in terms of confidence in where we're going. But it also generates profits that can be reinvested into the system to be able to fund all of those remodels. As you pointed out, interest rates are higher, and that is a higher cost on the margin. But I really look at those unlevered unit economics to unlevered returns on the remodels. That's what we can control and we can impact. So we are very focused on making sure that those gross returns are good, and we're getting to a place that we feel much better in.

就資產而言，我們肯定需要建立更現代化的資產基礎。在我的框架中，我認為基本上你在美國看到的每一家漢堡王都需要在全國範圍內現代化、方便且具有競爭力。讓我充滿信心的是，我們最初從改造中看到了良好的結果。因此，這些提升超出了我們的預期。這意味著回報開始發揮作用。我認為這對我們和加盟商來說非常重要。最重要的是，我們看到加盟商獲利能力強勁，這有利於我們對未來發展的信心。但它也產生了利潤，可以將這些利潤再投資到系統中，以便為所有這些改造提供資金。正如您所指出的，利率更高，邊際成本更高。但我確實關注了那些無槓桿的單位經濟效益和改造的無槓桿回報。這是我們可以控制、可以影響的。因此，我們非常注重確保這些總回報良好，並且我們正在達到一個讓我們感覺好多了的地方。

The last thing I would just point out, it usually gets less attention but I think it's perhaps one of the most important, is operations. And Tom has brought an incredible focus on the quality of operations and guest experience, everything from product quality and temperature, to hours of operations and speed of service. And we're making a lot of progress under the surface there and I think that's a really important ingredient to what's driven the same-store traffic improvements to where we are today. Patrick, I don't know if you want to add anything to that?

我要指出的最後一件事，通常很少受到關注，但我認為這可能是最重要的事情之一，那就是營運。湯姆非常注重營運品質和賓客體驗，從產品品質和溫度到營運時間和服務速度。我們正在那裡取得了很多進展，我認為這是推動同店流量改善到今天的一個非常重要的因素。派崔克，我不知道你想補充什麼？

Yes, I would. So that last point that Josh just made, I mean, you listened to all these calls and there's always a lot of discussion about operational improvements. I will tell you it is very real. We are foundationally running these restaurants better than we were a year ago and I am sure better than we were 5 years ago and it's working. In terms of the assets, I guess what I'd say is you're exactly right. We're a little bit under 50% in the image that we want to be in. It's not a great reflection of where we are and we've got all of those improvements ahead of us. So if we've got assets that don't all look great today, and we're already outperforming on a traffic standpoint, that tells you we should be pretty confident about what we're going to be able to do once we get those assets where we want to be.

是的，我會。因此，喬什剛才提出的最後一點，我的意思是，您聽取了所有這些電話，並且總是有很多關於營運改進的討論。我會告訴你這是非常真實的。從根本上來說，我們這些餐廳的經營狀況比一年前更好，我確信比五年前更好，而且正在發揮作用。就資產而言，我想我想說的是你是完全正確的。我們距離我們想要的形象還差一點點，還不到 50%。這並不能很好地反映我們所處的位置，而且我們前面還有所有這些改進。因此，如果我們擁有的資產今天看起來並不都很好，而且我們在流量方面已經表現出色，那麼這告訴您，我們應該對一旦獲得這些資產後我們將能夠做什麼充滿信心我們想要的資產。

The last thing I would say is the comment I made about the alignment with the franchisees, it is pretty remarkable right now. We are going through an awful lot of change and our great franchisees in the Burger King system are aggressively talking to us about keep going, you're going the right way, this is working, keep the pressure on to continue improving operations, to continue getting our assets where they need to be. That alignment is what allows us to move (inaudible), trust levels are building with Tom and his team, and it's what allows forward progress. So I'll tell you, I am awfully confident about our ability to keep this going. These are foundational things that are driving this business right now, and that's pretty exciting.

我要說的最後一件事是我對與特許經營商的合作發表的評論，現在這是非常了不起的。我們正在經歷巨大的變革，漢堡王系統中偉大的特許經營商正在積極地與我們談論繼續前進，你走的是正確的道路，這是有效的，繼續施加壓力，繼續改善運營，繼續前進將我們的資產放在需要的地方。這種一致性使我們能夠前進（聽不清楚），與湯姆和他的團隊建立信任水平，並且使我們能夠取得進展。所以我告訴你，我對我們保持這種勢頭的能力非常有信心。這些是目前推動這項業務的基礎因素，這非常令人興奮。

Our next question comes from Andrew Charles with TD Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Andrew Charles。

I wanted to pivot to Tims Canada for a second. Obviously, impressive performance in the third quarter. There seems to be investor concern on the Canadian consumer that might be even more concerned than the broader U.S. consumer. I'm curious in the context of very strong 3Q results, what part of the plan for Tims would you guys lean on the most, if we were to see the consumer pull back more in Canada?

我想暫時轉向 Tims Canada。顯然，第三季的表現令人印象深刻。投資者似乎對加拿大消費者的擔憂可能比更廣泛的美國消費者更令人擔憂。我很好奇，在第三季業績非常強勁的背景下，如果我們看到加拿大的消費者更多地撤退，你們最看重 Tims 計劃的哪一部分？

Yes. Thanks, Andrew. I would tell you, we haven't seen any big change in consumer behavior in Canada at this point. As I mentioned a little bit earlier, the business is doing really well. I think Axle and the team have done a really nice job focusing on the basics. And that's what's propelling both traffic and sales growth and it has for an awful lot of quarters now. I think if you just step back and look at how Tim's positioned in the Canadian market, we do all of the fundamentals of QSR, right? We have high-quality products, we are incredibly convenient, and we offer it at a compelling price point. And I think that's a great place to be in any market, whether you're in a good sign of the economic cycle or a little bit more difficult one. So we're just going to keep focusing on that. We're going to keep introducing really fantastic products. We're going to have compelling value and the team is working on operations to make sure we do it even faster.

是的。謝謝，安德魯。我想告訴你，目前我們還沒有看到加拿大消費者行為有任何重大變化。正如我之前提到的，業務做得非常好。我認為 Axle 和團隊在基礎知識方面做得非常好。這就是推動流量和銷售成長的因素，並且已經持續了許多個季度。我想如果你退後一步看看 Tim 在加拿大市場的定位，我們會做 QSR 的所有基礎知識，對嗎？我們擁有高品質的產品，非常方便，而且價格極具吸引力。我認為，無論您處於經濟週期的良好跡象還是經濟週期稍微困難的時期，這都是任何市場的好地方。所以我們將繼續關注這一點。我們將繼續推出真正出色的產品。我們將擁有令人信服的價值，團隊正在致力於運營，以確保我們做得更快。

Some of the things I mentioned earlier are really incredible. We improved the speed of service in the drive-thru by 10% year-on-year. That's a tough thing to do in a big business like this with a ton of volume and so I think Matt Moore and the team there have been doing some good things. So we're just going to keep focusing on the basics. I think we're well positioned regardless of the economic environment, and we'll keep you updated as things evolve.

我之前提到的一些事情確實令人難以置信。我們將得來速的服務速度年增了 10%。對於像這樣規模龐大的大企業來說，這是一件很難的事情，所以我認為馬特摩爾和團隊已經做了一些好事。因此，我們將繼續專注於基礎知識。我認為，無論經濟環境如何，我們都處於有利位置，隨著情況的發展，我們將隨時向您通報最新情況。

We now turn to Lauren Silberman with Deutsche Bank.

現在我們請來德意志銀行的勞倫‧西爾伯曼 (Lauren Silberman)。

My question is on BK International. Two parts; one, is a follow up to Dennis's question. As you look out over the next few years, do you think that BK Global can get back to 6% plus global unit growth that is pre-COVID? And then just on BK International for this quarter, I think you mentioned that you sell in comps is largely driven by price. It looks like relative to '19, also a bit of a [decel] from 2Q. Is there any specific market callouts or additional color you can provide on what you're seeing across markets?

我的問題是關於 BK International 的。兩部分；一是丹尼斯問題的後續。展望未來幾年，您認為 BK Global 能否恢復到新冠疫情爆發前 6% 以上的全球單位成長率？然後就本季的 BK International 而言，我想您提到您的比較銷售很大程度上是由價格驅動的。看起來相對於 19 年來說，也比第二季有點[減速]。對於您在各個市場上看到的情況，您是否可以提供任何特定的市場標註或其他顏色？

So Lauren, I'll take both of those. Maybe I'll take them in inverse order. So first, in terms of the evolution from Q2 to Q3, we did see a bit of a slowdown in comps and I'll give a little bit of color. The biggest driver on that, I think, is some reduction in year-on-year price One market that moved a bit is France, which I would just say Q2 was really incredible. We were doing double-digit same-store sales, and that slowed down a little bit into Q3 but we're still high single digits, around 9% same-store sales and we're taking significant market share. So we're performing above the industry. So you have some of those where you saw a little bit of a slowdown sequentially but generally, the performance is still really good and especially in France, we're really pleased with the business there. And it's actually -- it's our biggest market at this point for BK International.

所以勞倫，我會接受這兩個。也許我會按照相反的順序來處理它們。首先，就從第二季到第三季的演變而言，我們確實看到了比較方面的一些放緩，我將給出一些顏色。我認為，最大的推動因素是年比價格下降，其中一個略有變化的市場是法國，我只能說第二季的表現確實令人難以置信。我們的同店銷售額達到兩位數，進入第三季略有放緩，但我們仍然保持較高的個位數，同店銷售額約為 9%，並且我們正在佔據重要的市場份額。所以我們的表現高於業界。因此，您會發現其中一些業務連續放緩，但總體而言，表現仍然非常好，尤其是在法國，我們對那裡的業務非常滿意。實際上，這是 BK International 目前最大的市場。

In terms of the pace of unit growth, I won't get into breaking down the exact numbers of the forecast but I do think there's an opportunity for us to improve a little bit in terms of the BK international pace of growth. The piece I mentioned a little bit earlier, that I think is already starting to move is Burger King in China. That had been a bit of a slower grower for the last couple of years, and we've seen improvement. So we've already seen the openings year-to-date are improving a lot year-on-year and I think the outlook is for some pretty meaningful improvement in '23 versus '22. So that's probably the most important or specific piece that started to go in the right direction, and we hope to see more next year.

就單位成長速度而言，我不會詳細說明預測的具體數字，但我確實認為我們有機會在 BK 國際成長速度方面稍微提高一點。我之前提到的我認為已經開始流行的作品是中國的漢堡王。過去幾年成長速度有點慢，但我們已經看到了進步。因此，我們已經看到今年迄今為止的空缺職位同比有了很大改善，我認為 23 年與 22 年相比，前景會出現一些相當有意義的改善。因此，這可能是開始朝著正確方向發展的最重要或最具體的部分，我們希望明年能看到更多。

We now turn to John Ivankoe with JPMorgan.

現在我們請來摩根大通的約翰‧伊凡科。

Josh, in your prepared remarks, you mentioned franchisees that we're focusing on quality over quantity in terms of their bigger remodels. And obviously, that's interesting, especially when we talk about scrape and rebuilds that can well exceed $1 million per project, I think, up to $1.5 million per project. So can you talk about what that means for you as you kind of think about doing 800 units for $200 million, I think the numbers are, correct me, but through 2025, might we expect a lower number of units that are done with a higher contribution, but a higher sales lift, just dive in a little bit more if there are any implications on the comment in terms of the timing and the cost of the number of projects that you expect to accomplish in the next couple of years.

喬什，在您準備好的發言中，您提到特許經營商在進行更大的改造時，我們更注重質量而不是數量。顯然，這很有趣，尤其是當我們談論每個項目的廢棄和重建費用可能遠遠超過 100 萬美元時，我認為每個項目最多可達 150 萬美元。那麼，您能談談這對您意味著什麼嗎？當您考慮以2 億美元生產800 個單元時，我認為這些數字是，糾正我的說法，但到2025 年，我們是否會期望以更高的成本完成的單元數量會更少貢獻，但更高的銷售提升，如果評論對您預計在未來幾年內完成的項目數量的時間和成本有任何影響，只需再深入一點。

Thanks, John. So we are seeing a higher mix to your point of both scrapes and what we call full remodel. So that's a more scope heavy remodel. And I think that's a great thing, it means our franchisees are really investing for the long term and those types of remodels definitely have the highest sales uplifts by far. They make the most impact on the experience of both our guests and team members. So we're really happy to see that focus from our franchisees and kind of shared point of view on making big investments for the long term. To your point, that will likely shift a little bit the spend where it might be a little bit higher contribution for units, a little bit lower number of units within that mix. But I would tell you, we think that's a positive thing. We want to see the right investments made, that's the big shift we're trying to make in this program and we think that's what's going to produce the best business results over the medium to long term.

謝謝，約翰。因此，我們看到了刮擦和我們所說的全面改造的更高組合。所以這是一個範圍更大的重改造。我認為這是一件偉大的事情，這意味著我們的特許經營商確實正在進行長期投資，而這些類型的改造無疑具有迄今為止最高的銷售提升。它們對我們的客人和團隊成員的體驗影響最大。因此，我們真的很高興看到我們的特許經營商的關注以及對長期大規模投資的共同觀點。就您的觀點而言，這可能會稍微改變支出，其中單位的貢獻可能會更高一些，而該組合中的單位數量可能會更少一些。但我想告訴你，我們認為這是一件正面的事情。我們希望看到正確的投資，這是我們在該計劃中試圖做出的重大轉變，我們認為這將在中長期內產生最佳的業務成果。

Our next question comes from Eric Gonzalez with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Eric Gonzalez。

It sounded like you made a lot of progress on the digital side this quarter, particularly at BK U.S. where I think I heard you say you saw a 40% improvement in digital sales. So maybe give us a few more highlights on the progress we've made on the technology front and help us understand more about your aspirations to make the brands more digital over time and how you're measuring the return on those investments.

聽起來您本季在數字方面取得了很大進展，特別是在 BK U.S.，我想我聽到您說數位銷售成長了 40%。因此，也許可以讓我們更多地了解我們在技術方面取得的進展，並幫助我們更多地了解您希望隨著時間的推移使品牌更加數位化的願望，以及您如何衡量這些投資的回報。

Thanks, Eric. You're absolutely right. We made a lot of progress in the quarter. We were up, I think, over 40% in terms of digital sales at both Burger King and Popeyes. I think those teams are doing a really nice job on getting all the basics right. They're making sure the apps are faster. They're really learning how to work well with the delivery business, so they're growing that business. And I think importantly, with Burger King, we're starting to make some progress figuring out kiosks. And you go back a few years, we had started to bring kiosks to the U.S. There wasn't so much consumer uptake and I think that condition has really changed. We started to pilot in more and more of our Burger King company restaurants, and we're seeing tremendous results. The vast majority of the in-restaurant tickets are all going through these kiosks. So that's a lot of what's driving that 28% number that I mentioned in terms of the digital sales at company restaurants. So I think the U.S. is ready for kiosks now, and we're likely to see a faster rollout of those around the world.

謝謝，埃里克。你是絕對正確的。我們在本季取得了很大進展。我認為漢堡王和 Popeyes 的數位銷售額成長了 40% 以上。我認為這些團隊在確保所有基礎知識正確方面做得非常好。他們正在確保應用程式速度更快。他們確實正在學習如何與送貨業務良好合作，因此他們正在發展該業務。我認為重要的是，透過漢堡王，我們開始在自助終端方面取得一些進展。幾年前，我們開始將資訊亭引入美國。消費者的接受度並不高，我認為這種情況確實改變了。我們開始在越來越多的漢堡王公司餐廳進行試點，並且看到了巨大的成果。絕大多數餐廳內的門票都是透過這些售票亭購買的。因此，這就是我提到的公司餐廳數位銷售額 28% 的推動因素。因此，我認為美國現在已經準備好使用資訊亭，我們可能會看到世界各地更快地推出這些資訊亭。

We've seen it in all of our international markets. I mentioned earlier, over 50% of our international markets have been converted to kiosks and it really transforms the guest experience and the team member experience, especially when you go kind of all in on kiosks and convert the whole restaurant. Makes it really clear for the guests, gives them time and kind of no stress ordering experience. That tends to also lead to higher order values, which is good. And it also reduces stress on the team members. You take away that sort of stressful interaction at the front counter for both sides and the team members can focus more on producing a really high-quality meal and delivering it in a kind way to the guests. So I think this is a great thing for the business. It's exciting that consumers are more accepting of it in the U.S. than they were a few years back, and it's something that will likely start to roll out pretty rapidly across all of our U.S. businesses.

我們在所有國際市場上都看到了這一點。我之前提到過，我們超過 50% 的國際市場已改建為自助服務終端，這確實改變了賓客體驗和團隊成員的體驗，尤其是當您全力投入自助服務終端並改造整個餐廳時。讓客人真正清楚，給他們時間和無壓力的訂購體驗。這往往也會導致更高的階值，這是好事。它還可以減輕團隊成員的壓力。您消除了雙方在前台的那種壓力互動，團隊成員可以更加專注於製作真正高品質的餐點並以友善的方式將其提供給客人。所以我認為這對企業來說是件好事。令人興奮的是，美國消費者比幾年前更能接受它，而且它可能會開始在我們所有的美國業務中迅速推廣。

Last point I would just make, Eric, on your question regarding our aspirations in digital, I'd tell you, my point of view is we need to get this business to 100% digital. We should have all of the order taking done through digital ordering channels over time. We'll have to see exactly what that looks like, especially in a drive-thru. But I'd say that's sort of our north star of where we want to go with the business. We have that in quite a number of our restaurants in international markets and it really improves the operation of the whole restaurant. Patrick, anything you want to add?

艾瑞克，關於你關於我們對數位化的願望的問題，我想說的最後一點是，我的觀點是我們需要讓這項業務 100% 數位化。隨著時間的推移，我們應該透過數位訂購管道完成所有訂單。我們必須確切地看到它是什麼樣子，尤其是在汽車餐廳中。但我想說，這就是我們希望開展業務的北極星。我們在國際市場上的許多餐廳都採用了這種技術，這確實改善了整個餐廳的運作。派崔克，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yes. The only thing I'd add is Josh and I were in stores as mentioned in Paris that are 100% digital because they don't have a drive-through, it's 100% kiosk. It is so much better of an experience, not only for the customers but for the people working in the restaurants. It's better for profitability, I mean, everything you've heard from us and frankly, you've heard from other big players. And it's a big point of leverage for scale businesses versus smaller players to be able to roll this out into the restaurants, have it work, improve the efficiency of the restaurants, the customer satisfaction. I mean, it just -- it is a win on every single front and so it is clearly where we're going to be going as rapidly as we can. And frankly, you're going to see it with other players as well because it just -- it's a better way to do business.

是的。我唯一要補充的是，喬許和我在巴黎提到的商店都是 100% 數位化的，因為他們沒有免下車服務，而是 100% 的資訊亭。這是一種更好的體驗，不僅對顧客來說，對餐廳工作人員也是如此。我的意思是，這對盈利能力更好，你從我們那裡聽到的一切，坦率地說，你從其他大公司那裡聽到的。與規模較小的企業相比，規模企業的一個重要優勢是能夠將其推廣到餐廳，讓它發揮作用，並提高餐廳的效率和客戶滿意度。我的意思是，這在每一個方面都是一場勝利，所以這顯然是我們將盡可能快地前進的方向。坦白說，你也會在其他玩家身上看到這種情況，因為這只是一種更好的做生意方式。

Our next question comes from Sara Senatore with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Sara Senatore。

I have a clarification and then a question on Tims Canada. Just -- the clarification is you mentioned that the BK remodel lifts were better than expected. I think the last number that we saw was something like 12% sales lift. So I was just trying to understand if we're saying that the sales lifts are actually higher than that or if you could quantify it. And then on Tims Canada, I know you said you're taking share of lunch, but the PM food sale increase of 7% was slower than the system-wide sales growth. So is that just a slower growing daypart? Or is there less of a tailwind from mobility there just as the economy reopened? Just try and reconcile share gains, but a slower growth than the broader business.

我有一個澄清，然後有一個關於 Tims Canada 的問題。只是——澄清一下，您提到 BK 改造升降機比預期的要好。我認為我們看到的最後一個數字大約是 12% 的銷售額提升。所以我只是想了解我們所說的銷售提升是否實際上高於這個數字，或者您是否可以對其進行量化。然後在 Tims Canada 上，我知道您說您要分擔午餐，但 PM 食品銷售增長 7% 低於全系統銷售增長。那麼這只是一個成長較慢的時段嗎？或者，隨著經濟重新開放，那裡的流動性推動力是否減弱了？只是嘗試調和股票收益，但成長速度比更廣泛的業務慢。

Yes, Sara. On the first one on BK remodels, what I was referencing is what you said that we are seeing in the kind of initial remodels recently, we're seeing higher than that 12%. I'd say we should -- let us get a few more data for it a little bit more time before we update any of those numbers, but we're very pleased to see that we're coming in above what we're seeing historically. In terms of Tims Canada, I think we have made some progress on the PM Food side. To your point, the sales growth in the PM day part is pretty similar to what we're seeing overall in the market. So we're looking to make more progress there next year. We have some things in the pipeline that I think will allow us to do that and a lot of that will probably come in 2024.

是的，薩拉。關於 BK 改造的第一個，我引用的是你所說的，我們最近在初始改造中看到的情況，我們看到的比例高於 12%。我想說我們應該——在我們更新任何這些數字之前，讓我們多花一點時間獲取更多數據，但我們很高興看到我們的數據超出了我們所看到的水平從歷史上看。就 Tims Canada 而言，我認為我們在 PM Food 方面取得了一些進展。就您而言，下午時段的銷售成長與我們在市場上看到的整體情況非常相似。因此，我們希望明年在這方面取得更多進展。我們正在醞釀一些事情，我認為這些事情將使我們能夠做到這一點，其中許多可能會在 2024 年實現。

Yes. Maybe, Sara, the only thing I'd add to that is in Q3, we're lapping from 2022, a full quarter of loaded. So that also is something that we are growing on top of this quarter.

是的。也許，Sara，我唯一要補充的是在第三季度，我們從 2022 年開始，整整四分之一的負載。因此，這也是我們在本季基礎上不斷發展的事情。

Our next question comes from Chris Carril with RBC Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的克里斯·卡里爾。

I wanted to follow up on Popeyes. Maybe can you expand a bit more on the progress with Easy to Love and Easy to Run strategies? And development for the brand remains strong, I think up over 11% during the quarter. So I'm curious if you could comment on how you're thinking about contribution by Popeyes to overall development next year and beyond.

我想跟進大力水手。也許您可以透過「易於愛」和「易於運行」策略進一步擴展一些進展？該品牌的發展依然強勁，我認為本季成長超過 11%。所以我很好奇您是否可以評論一下您如何看待 Popeyes 對明年及以後整體發展的貢獻。

Yes, Chris. So on each of those, on the easy to run work on the kitchens, we continue to work on those pilots. So we've got it out in quite a number of restaurants now and we're seeing what's working well. We're making tweaks to some of the things that need improvement and we want to make sure that we get that model really locked in and have really clear benefits to shore the system before we roll it out. So you'll probably see us over the next couple of quarters adding more restaurants to those pilots, getting more franchisees involved and making sure we kind of finalize the format of that before we roll it out to the system at large next year and beyond.

是的，克里斯。因此，對於每一個方面，對於廚房中易於運作的工作，我們將繼續進行這些試點工作。所以我們現在已經在很多餐廳推出了它，我們正在看看哪些效果很好。我們正在對一些需要改進的地方進行調整，我們希望確保我們真正鎖定該模型，並在推出系統之前為支援該系統帶來真正明顯的好處。因此，您可能會在接下來的幾個季度看到我們在這些試點中添加更多餐廳，讓更多特許經營商參與其中，並確保我們在明年及以後將其全面推廣到整個系統之前確定其格式。

In terms of development, you're right, it's been a really big driver for us. I think if you just step back a little bit, the global chicken QSR segment is really awesome and it's been doing great over a long period of time. Within the U.S., it's been one of the fastest-growing and largest segments. There's a lot of players doing really well. I think chicken overall has been gaining a lot of share systematically within the U.S. consumer's basket of goods. So it's a great place to be. And the same is true in international. There's a lot of international markets where chicken is growing a lot and I think we have decades of tailwinds of growth in that segment. And fortunately, we've got a terrific brand with the best product in that segment, and you're seeing us grow it in both of those geographies. We've consistently been one of the fastest-growing drive-through concepts in the U.S., and we continue that into this year. And we've ramped up international growth. You saw in the materials that we shared when we did the international visit that Popeyes has really ramped up the pace of restaurant growth in a lot of different markets around the world. And I still think we're very early in that process. We got some really big markets out there, places like India, France, China, where we've just gotten started, but some of the initial results are really encouraging.

就發展而言，你是對的，這對我們來說是一個非常大的推動力。我認為如果你退後一步，全球雞肉快餐市場真的很棒，並且在很長一段時間內一直表現出色。在美國，它是成長最快、規模最大的細分市場之一。有很多球員都表現得非常好。我認為總體而言，雞肉在美國消費者的一籃子商品中系統性地獲得了很大的份額。所以這是一個很棒的地方。國際上也是如此。在許多國際市場上，雞肉都在大量成長，我認為我們在這個領域擁有數十年的成長動力。幸運的是，我們擁有一個出色的品牌，擁有該細分市場中最好的產品，而且您會看到我們在這兩個地區都在發展它。我們一直是美國發展最快的得來速概念之一，今年我們將繼續保持這一勢頭。我們也加快了國際成長。您在我們進行國際訪問時分享的資料中看到，Popeyes 確實加快了全球許多不同市場的餐廳成長步伐。我仍然認為我們還處於這個過程的早期階段。我們有一些非常大的市場，像是印度、法國、中國，我們剛起步，但一些初步結果確實令人鼓舞。

As I mentioned, the France stores that we just got started in over the last year or so, they're doing fantastic. The average restaurant sales are really good and so we just need to ramp up the pace of development. And I think that's one of -- probably one of the biggest opportunities that we have as a company as you look over the next decade is to make Popeyes a very relevant and a leading brand in all of these geographies around the world.

正如我所提到的，我們在去年左右剛開業的法國商店表現出色。餐廳的平均銷售額非常好，因此我們只需要加快發展速度。我認為這可能是我們作為一家公司在未來十年所擁有的最大機會之一，就是讓大力水手成為全球所有這些地區的一個非常相關的領導品牌。

And the only thing I'd add on that is I'd point to the system-wide sales growth number for Rest of World for Popeyes, which was 43.6% up, rolling over 43.4% up for the quarter a year ago. Plus 40s on top of plus 40s, those numbers get really large very fast. That business is just exceptional, both in the U.S. but particularly outside of the U.S. in terms of the growth that it can generate.

我唯一要補充的是，我想指出 Popeyes 世界其他地區的全系統銷售成長數字，成長了 43.6%，比去年同期成長了 43.4%。再加上 40 加上 40，這些數字變得非常快。就其可產生的成長而言，這項業務在美國尤其是在美國以外都是非常出色的。

Good one. Thank you, Patrick. Plus 40s are good. Thank you.

好一個。謝謝你，派崔克。加40幾就不錯了。謝謝。

We now turn to Brian Harbor with Morgan Stanley.

我們現在轉向摩根士丹利的布萊恩哈伯。

Just on Tims Canada, the supply chain profit dynamic, Matt, would you expect that to be similar in the fourth quarter? Any comments on that? And then also, maybe just comment on franchisee profitability there. I think you said double-digit increases like in other markets, but what other initiatives are kind of most important for you on that front? How much more progress do you think you can make on that side?

就 Tims Canada 而言，供應鏈利潤動態，Matt，您預計第四季度情況會類似嗎？對此有何評論？然後，也許只是評論一下特許經營商的盈利能力。我想您說過像其他市場一樣實現兩位數的成長，但是在這方面還有哪些其他舉措對您來說最重要？您認為在這方面還能有多少進展？

Yes. Thanks, Brian. Matt here. So just on the supply chain question, I think what we were trying to describe was the dynamic that we saw in the second half of last year between Q3 and Q4, which is creating a little bit of year-over-year volatility in that, we increased prices entering the second half of last year as commodities were going up and to the right. And so therefore, Q3 of last year was a bit stronger and then our average cost base was higher in Q4 of last year. So where we are this year is, we feel really good about the strength of the Tims' business progress and traffic that we're driving there, which is the primary driver of the supply chain business. So we still see good continued momentum there. And we expect -- if you sort of look through the second half, our average growth in like organic gross profit for that business for the second half, we think will be strong and similar to the first half of the year.

是的。謝謝，布萊恩。馬特在這裡。因此，就供應鏈問題而言，我認為我們試圖描述的是去年下半年第三季和第四季之間的動態，這造成了一點同比波動，進入去年下半年，隨著商品價格的上漲和向右，我們提高了價格。因此，去年第三季的情況稍強一些，然後我們去年第四季的平均成本基礎更高。因此，我們今年的情況是，我們對 Tims 的業務進展和我們在那裡推動的流量的實力感到非常滿意，這是供應鏈業務的主要驅動力。因此，我們仍然看到良好的持續勢頭。我們預計，如果你仔細觀察下半年，我們認為下半年該業務的有機毛利平均成長將會強勁，並且與上半年相似。

And then, Brian, just on your question in terms of franchisee profitability at Tims in Canada, we are making a lot of progress there. It starts with sales, and Axel and the team have done a terrific job driving really strong store sales over the last few years, but this year as well, that makes the P&L get a lot better. But we've also been doing work on some of the other lines as well. Matt Moore and his team have been working very closely with all of our franchisees in Canada to do a lot of trainings that helps us to manage the P&L better. Everything from inventory clinics to a lot of focus on labor scheduling. All of those things kind of make the -- there are small improvements but they make a big difference on the P&L. And on top of that, we have seen a bit of moderation in some of the cost of goods. So we're seeing a softer kind of inflation in terms of our cost of goods basket, and that certainly helps as well. So all those things are adding up to some pretty substantial progress, and we're excited to be able to share with you kind of where we land for the full year when we share our Q4 results in February.

然後，布萊恩，就你關於加拿大蒂姆斯特許經營商盈利能力的問題，我們在那裡取得了很大進展。首先是銷售，阿克塞爾和團隊在過去幾年中做得非常出色，推動了商店銷售的強勁成長，但今年也是如此，這使得損益表變得更好。但我們也在其他一些方面開展了工作。馬特摩爾和他的團隊一直與我們在加拿大的所有特許經營商密切合作，進行大量培訓，幫助我們更好地管理損益。從庫存診所到對勞動力調度的大量關注，一切都應有盡有。所有這些事情都有一些微小的改進，但它們對損益表產生了很大的影響。最重要的是，我們看到一些商品成本下降。因此，就我們的商品成本而言，我們看到通膨較為溫和，這當然也有幫助。因此，所有這些事情加在一起取得了一些相當實質性的進展，我們很高興能夠在二月份分享第四季度業績時與您分享我們全年的進展。

We now turn to Gregory Francfort with Guggenheim Securities.

現在我們請來古根漢證券公司的葛雷戈里‧法蘭克福特。

Thanks for the question. Maybe I don't know if it's Patrick or Josh, but just are you considering making further investments in the Burger King U.S. business beyond the $400 million? I know you talked about it a little bit, but I ask it because I guess if you prove the returns are high enough where you would increase that size, theoretically, franchisees would then also be willing to make the investments. So I'm just trying to think about the path in the next 18 months that would tell you that $400 million was the right level or what you would need to see to consider raising that. Any thoughts there?

謝謝你的提問。也許我不知道是派崔克還是喬什，但您是否正在考慮對漢堡王美國業務進行超過 4 億美元的進一步投資？我知道你談過一點，但我問這個問題是因為我想如果你證明回報夠高，你會增加規模，理論上，加盟商也會願意進行投資。所以我只是想考慮一下未來 18 個月的路徑，告訴你 4 億美元是合適的水平，或者你需要看到什麼才能考慮籌集資金。有什麼想法嗎？

Greg, thank you for the question. I would say that I think that we're really pleased with the progress from Tom and the team at BK. It's really great, and we're excited to make that $400 million investment. We're seeing good returns on the initial portion of it. But to your point, we want to see even more data that supports the return on those investments. And I think we'll see that over the next 1.5 years or so. We'll see more and more remodels and we want to see continued uplifts that tell us that those returns are going to be really good. We structured the program that way intentionally. We set up about a 2-year program initially to cover 2023 and 2024, which would allow us that we could prove return on capital from things like our advertising spend, which is going great and on the remodels which is going well but it's still a little bit earlier.

格雷格，謝謝你的提問。我想說的是，我認為我們對 Tom 和 BK 團隊的進步感到非常滿意。這真的很棒，我們很高興能夠進行 4 億美元的投資。我們在其初始部分看到了良好的回報。但就您的觀點而言，我們希望看到更多支持這些投資回報的數據。我認為我們將在未來 1.5 年左右看到這一點。我們將看到越來越多的改造，我們希望看到持續的提升，這告訴我們這些回報將非常好。我們有意以這種方式建構該計劃。我們最初制定了一個為期 2 年的計劃，涵蓋 2023 年和 2024 年，這將使我們能夠證明從廣告支出等方面獲得資本回報，該支出進展順利，改造進展順利，但仍然是一個問題。早一點。

I think to your point on future investments, we'll absolutely be open to making future investments in the BK system. What we're doing in '23 and '24 will allow us to make progress and prove things out but it doesn't take us all the way to where we need to be. I mentioned earlier, we need to have -- effectively every restaurant in the BK system needs to be modern, beautiful, convenient and that means that we're all going to have to keep making investments beyond 2024. The exact form of that, we still have to figure out, and we've got to work with our franchisees to agree on what level of investments and what format that will take. We don't have anything to share on that yet. We'll keep working with our franchisees and we'll share more with you all once we have it all figured out.

我認為就您對未來投資的觀點而言，我們絕對願意對 BK 系統進行未來投資。我們在 23 年和 24 年所做的事情將使我們取得進步並證明一切，但這並不能帶我們一路到達我們需要的地方。我之前提到過，我們需要——實際上 BK 系統中的每家餐廳都需要現代化、美觀、方便，這意味著我們都必須在 2024 年之後繼續進行投資。具體形式，我們仍然需要弄清楚，我們必須與我們的特許經營商合作，就投資水準和採取的形式達成一致。我們還沒有任何資訊可以分享。我們將繼續與我們的特許經營商合作，一旦我們解決了所有問題，我們將與大家分享更多資訊。

We now turn to Danilo Gargiulo with Bernstein.

現在我們轉向伯恩斯坦的達尼洛·加吉烏洛。

Was wondering if you can share some details on the intra-quarter cadence of your same-store sales and traffic, especially with regards to Popeyes and Burger King in U.S. and what might be impacting the cadence that might give you some incremental confidence on to getting into 4Q and beyond?

想知道您是否可以分享一些有關同店銷售和流量的季度內節奏的詳細信息，特別是關於美國的大力水手和漢堡王，以及可能影響節奏的因素，這可能會給您帶來更多信心進入第四季及以後？

Danilo, thank you for the question. I would just reemphasize that we're really pleased with how both of those brands performed. We mentioned that both Popeyes and Burger King and the U.S. got to flat traffic, and BK has actually been performing above the industry in the last couple of months. I'm going to get into the kind of month-to-month stuff we generally try not to do that. But I think a lot of the things that are working are things that we're doing very systematically across both of those brands, and that's what gives us confidence that we can continue that pace of improvement in the quarters and years to come.

達尼洛，謝謝你的提問。我想再次強調，我們對這兩個品牌的表現非常滿意。我們提到大力水手和漢堡王以及美國的流量都持平，而 BK 在過去幾個月的表現實際上一直高於行業。我將討論我們通常盡量不這樣做的每月的事情。但我認為很多正在發揮作用的事情都是我們在這兩個品牌中非常系統地做的事情，這讓我們有信心在未來幾個季度和幾年裡繼續保持這種改進的步伐。

Our next question comes from Jeff Bernstein with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的傑夫伯恩斯坦。

This is Pratik on for Jeff. I just wanted to ask about BK, U.S. and the broader quick service industry's positioning into a potential macro slowdown. I think in the past, you've spoken of a trade-down benefit from above and maybe losing some customers to food at home. Can you talk about what you're currently seeing with your customers by income cohort? We've heard some others in your industry talk about check management recently, have you seen any signs of that to date? And Patrick, in a potential economic slowdown, how do the 4 brands compare to your prior life and what's perceived to be a very resilient value-led pizza segment?

這是傑夫的普拉蒂克。我只是想問韓國、美國以及更廣泛的快速服務產業對潛在宏觀經濟放緩的定位。我想在過去，您曾談到從上面獲得的折扣利益，並且可能會因在家中的食物而失去一些顧客。您能談談您目前按收入群體對客戶的看法嗎？我們最近聽到您所在行業的其他一些人談論檢查管理，到目前為止您有看到任何跡象嗎？派翠克，在潛在的經濟放緩的情況下，這 4 個品牌與您之前的生活相比如何，以及什麼被認為是一個非常有彈性的價值主導的披薩細分市場？

Thanks, Pratik. A couple of thoughts on this, and then I'll let Patrick comment on pizza. I would just say that the business seems to be doing pretty well, right? We're seeing consistent same-store sales, our traffic has been stable. So the actual business performance has been good. If you look back to past macro cycles, our industry tends to do pretty well overall. I think what we offer is good value, convenience, quality products. That's the kind of thing that tends to perform pretty well through the cycles. And as Patrick, I think, has pointed out a number of times, the biggest thing that really drives our industry is employment. Employment has been pretty good. So all those factors I think give us a lot of comfort that the business does and should continue to perform well regardless of what's happening in a broader macro environment.

謝謝，普拉蒂克。對此有一些想法，然後我會讓帕特里克評論披薩。我只想說，生意看起來還不錯吧？我們看到同店銷售穩定，客流量也穩定。所以實際的經營績效還是不錯的。如果回顧過去的宏觀週期，我們的產業整體表現往往相當不錯。我認為我們提供的是物有所值、方便、優質的產品。這種事情在整個週期中往往表現得很好。我認為，正如帕特里克多次指出的那樣，真正推動我們行業發展的最大因素是就業。就業狀況已經相當不錯了。因此，我認為所有這些因素都給我們帶來了很大的安慰，無論更廣泛的宏觀環境發生什麼，該業務確實並且應該繼續表現良好。

Yes. Just to throw in a data point there on what Josh was talking about, we did in the quarter to see traffic growth in the less than $100,000 income cohort with our guests based on some of the compelling value offers that we had like the Royal Crispy Wraps and the Whopper Junior Duo. So just a data point on that.

是的。只是為了在Josh 所說的內容中添加一個數據點，我們在本季度看到收入低於100,000 美元的客人群體的流量增長，這是基於我們擁有的一些令人信服的價值優惠，例如皇家脆皮捲餅和皇堡少年二人組。所以只是一個數據點。

And I guess what I would add to that is just simply, look, these categories are the same as pizza, which is they're good value. They are not recession proof but they are recession resistant. And they are -- as Josh said, they're driven by employment levels. We added another 150,000 jobs last month and that's a good thing for the category. So I still see things as pretty doing good overall. As long as employment levels stay solid, I think the category is going to do absolutely fine.

我想我要補充的只是簡單地說，看，這些類別與披薩相同，它們很有價值。它們不能抵禦經濟衰退，但可以抵抗經濟衰退。正如喬許所說，它們是由就業水準所驅動的。上個月我們又增加了 15 萬個工作崗位，這對該類別來說是一件好事。所以我仍然認為總體上做得很好。只要就業水準保持穩定，我認為該類別的表現絕對會很好。

We now turn to Joshua Long with Stephens.

現在我們轉向約書亞·朗和史蒂芬斯。

When we think about the narrowing of that gap on traffic specific to Burger King U.S., certainly exciting, and it seems like you've also been able to do that with a real focus on day-to-day operations and kind of the core equities from a marketing perspective. Just curious if you think there's more opportunity for upside to continue closing that gap and driving traffic before needing to lean into maybe new product innovations or new LTOs specific to the U.S.

當我們想到漢堡王美國特有的流量差距縮小時，當然令人興奮，而且似乎您也能夠通過真正關注日常運營和核心資產來做到這一點從營銷的角度來看。只是好奇您是否認為有更多的機會繼續縮小差距並推動流量，然後再需要轉向新產品創新或針對美國的新 LTO。

I'm going to start by saying we don't want to narrow the gap because it's a positive gap for us. We want to expand the gap at this point.

首先我要說的是，我們不想縮小差距，因為這對我們來說是一個正面的差距。我們希望在這一點上擴大差距。

Yes, Josh, I think there are absolutely opportunities to continue to as Patrick said, expand the gap. So a couple of big ones. I really think the operations side is one of the things we will be continuing to focus on, I think it's a huge opportunity. We have made a lot of progress over the last 1.5 years or so, but there's still a long way to go. We still have restaurants that have big opportunities in terms of the quality of operations we're running there, and that is a front center focus for Tom and the team. We want -- we made some progress in some of the [Opstats], whether it's our internal ones or some external rankings, but we want to go much further on that than where we've gotten to. And I think that's maybe one of the single most important drivers of our traffic opportunity over time and perhaps a bit of an underappreciated one.

是的，喬什，我認為絕對有機會繼續像帕特里克所說的那樣，擴大差距。所以有幾個大的。我真的認為營運方面是我們將繼續關注的事情之一，我認為這是一個巨大的機會。在過去 1.5 年左右的時間裡，我們取得了巨大進展，但仍有很長的路要走。我們仍然有一些餐廳在營運品質方面有很大的機會，這是湯姆和團隊的首要關注點。我們希望——我們在一些 [Opstats] 上取得了一些進展，無論是我們的內部排名還是一些外部排名，但我們希望在這方面走得更遠。我認為，隨著時間的推移，這可能是我們交通機會的最重要的驅動因素之一，但也許有點被低估了。

I also think that what we're doing on the image side is going to be really powerful and we've just got started there. So we have a lot more we want to do in terms of modernizing the fleet. And when we do those remodels, especially when they are the more meaningful ones, those kinds of full remodels and the scrapes that I mentioned with John's question, those are really powerful in driving additional traffic to our restaurants. So as we get more of those going on, I think that's going to be a bit of a tailwind, too.

我還認為我們在圖像方面所做的事情將會非常強大，而且我們才剛剛開始。因此，在機隊現代化方面，我們還有很多事情要做。當我們進行這些改造時，尤其是當它們是更有意義的改造時，這些全面的改造和我在約翰的問題中提到的刮擦，這些對於增加我們餐廳的客流量來說確實非常強大。因此，隨著我們進行更多此類活動，我認為這也會帶來一些順風。

Helpful on widening that gap.

有助於擴大這一差距。

This concludes our Q&A. I'll now hand back to Josh Kobza, CEO, for closing remarks.

我們的問答到此結束。現在我將請執行長 Josh Kobza 致閉幕詞。

Thank you all so much for taking the time to join us today. And again, thank you very much to all of our team members to our franchisees, to our restaurant teams around the world who drove a really great quarter this quarter. We look forward to updating everybody on our results again for Q4 in February, and wish you all a great rest of the day.

非常感謝大家今天抽出時間來參加我們的活動。再次，非常感謝我們所有的團隊成員、我們的特許經營商、我們世界各地的餐廳團隊，他們在本季度取得了非常出色的業績。我們期待再次向大家通報二月第四季的結果，並祝大家有個愉快的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, today's call has now concluded. We'd like to thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。我們衷心感謝您的參與。現在您可以斷開線路。