Burger Kings US sales surge while McDonalds growth flails in burger battle

There might be a new king of fast food.Burger King’s US sales are soaring as customers embrace its revamped Whopper – while long-reigning McDonald’s suffers flailing growth in its largest market.In the most recent quarter, Burger King’s US same-store sales jumped 8.5%, owner Restaurant Brands International – which also owns Tim Horton and Popeyes – said Thursday.McDonald’s, meanwhile, saw US same-store sales growth of just 0.8%, which executives called disappointing.The company on Tuesday announced it has hired a new president for its US division in an attempt to drive sales.The fast-food giants’ rivalry has been heating up this year amid a battle between their biggest burgers, after they both unveiled their own version of calorie-bomb patties on the same day in February. Burger King updated its iconic Whopper with a “premium” bun, “better-tasting mayo” and a box container instead of a paper wrapper while McDonald’s brought the Big Arch Burger to the US.

It features two quarter-pound beef patties and three slices of melted cheese.McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski was ruthlessly mocked online for a video touting the burger, in which he took a weirdly timid bite.On Thursday, RBI said Burger King’s turnaround effort — which included the updated Whopper, restaurant renovations and a new marketing campaign — helped draw in customers.“Burger King’s performance is a great example of what’s possible when you invest in the fundamentals and execute well – an approach we’re applying across all of our brands,” Restaurant Brands CEO Josh Kobza said in a statement. RBI said Burger King’s “standout performance” extended overseas, as its international restaurants enjoyed same-store sales growth of 5.4% in the last quarter.Michael Gunther, SVP of research and market intelligence at Consumer Intelligence, said Burger King’s outperformance was broad – with accelerating growth in traffic, average check size and market share gai...