Chicken Wars Redux: Popeyes' Chicken Sandwich To Return In November

Consumers who missed out on a brief opportunity to enjoy a chicken sandwich at Popeyes will be given a second chance in November.

What Happened

Restaurant Brands International Inc's QSR Popeyes delighted consumers with its sandwiches and created long-lines at stores for a two-week period in August. On Monday, CNBC reported the famous chicken sandwich will return to Popeyes stores as of Nov. 3.

Popeyes appears to be taking advantage of a Sunday launch date as it will face zero competition from rival Chick Fil A who closes all of its stores.

Why It's Important

Popeyes' chicken sandwich helped its parent company Restaurant Brands report its best quarterly results in nearly 20 years, according to CNBC. The restaurant conglomerate reported same-store sales growth of more than 10% in its third quarter.

Investors are hoping Popeyes' rematch of chicken sandwich wars can yield similar benefits. Estimates from research firm KeyBanc Capital Markets found the fast food chain sold as many as 1,000 chicken sandwiches each day during the brief period in August, according to CNBC.

What's Next

Sun Holdings, an operator of around 150 Popeyes locations, told Bloomberg it will hire 400 new employees to better manage a surge in demand. In fact, the restaurant locations may allocate two people per store to work solely on preparing the sandwiches.

Restaurant Brands reported quarterly earnings of 72 cents per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 56 cents by 28.57%. The company reported quarterly sales of $1.107 billion, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. This is a 19.49% decrease over sales of $1.375 billion the same period last year. The company's CEO said, "our result at Tim Hortons were not where we want them to be."

Restaurant Brands International's stock traded down about 2% to $67.04 per share at time of publication.

Related Links:

Analyst Breaks Down Popeye's Chicken Sandwich, Impact On Rivals

What The Truck?!? – There's No Driver Shortage Or Chicken Sandwiches At Popeyes

Photo Courtesy Popeyes Chicken