Top headlines: Tim Hortons parent RBI expects to have 40,000 restaurants by 2028

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Today’s headlines

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Top story

RBI expects to have 40,000 restaurants, $60 billion in sales by 2028

Restaurant Brands International Inc. says it expects its quick-serve empire to span 40,000 restaurants and achieve a collective US$60 billion in sales by 2028.

The Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Firehouse Subs owner has about 30,000 restaurants these days and in its most recent financial year saw US$42.8 billion in system-wide sales.

Speaking at an investor day event in New York today, RBI executives said they expect the company’s adjusted operating income to hit $3.2 billion by 2028, up from US$2.2 billion in its last fiscal year.

The company hopes to reach such figures by growing Tim Hortons afternoon and evening sales and remodeling Burger King restaurants to give them a more modern look.

RBI will also work to expand Popeyes menu and drive sales through its digital channels.

With Firehouse Subs, the company wants to expand in the U.S. and Canadian markets to help it reach 800 new locations by 2028.

— The Canadian Press

4:52 p.m.

Market close: TSX up more than 300 points, U.S. stock markets also rise

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Canada’s main stock index gained 1.6 per cent, led by strong gains in the energy sector, while U.S. markets also rose.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 333.29 points at 21,222.69.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 348.85 points at 38,773.12. The S&P 500 index was up 29.11 points at 5,029.73, while the Nasdaq composite was up 47.03 points at 15,906.17.

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.11 cents U.S. compared with 73.80 cents U.S. on Wednesday.

The April crude oil contract was up US$1.23 at US$77.59 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was down three cents at US$1.58 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was up US$10.60 at US$2,014.90 an ounce and the March copper contract was up six cents at US$3.76 a pound.

— The Canadian Press

12:10 p.m.

Midday markets: TSX rises more than 200 points

Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in early-afternoon trading, helped higher by strength in the energy sector, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 237.58 points, or 1.14 per cent, at 21,125.26.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 188.00 points, 0.49 per cent at 38,614.55. The S&P 500 index was up 9.46 points, 0.19 per cent, at 5,010.28, while the Nasdaq composite was down 17.79 points, 0.12 per cent, at 15,838.95.

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The Canadian dollar traded for 74.06 cents US, up 0.31 per cent, compared with 73.80 cents US on Wednesday.

The April crude oil contract was up 2.24 per cent at US$78.36 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was down two cents at US$1.59 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was up 0.44 per cent at US$2,013.20 an ounce and the March copper contract was up four cents at US$3.74 a pound.

— The Canadian Press

10:45 a.m.

CPPIB fund earns 3.4% in latest quarter

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board says its fund earned a net return of 3.4 per cent in its latest quarter.

CPP Investments chief executive John Graham says strong performance of global equity and fixed income markets during the final months of calendar 2023 contributed to the fund’s continued growth.

The fund ended the third quarter of its 2024 financial year with $590.8 billion in net assets, up from $576.1 billion at the end of the previous quarter.

It says strength in public equity, fixed income, credit, private equity, energy and infrastructure assets helped boost results.

The gains were offset in part by foreign exchange losses due to a stronger Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar.

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The results for the fund resulted in a 10-year annualized net return of 9.3 per cent.

Read more: CPP fund closing in on $600 billion after stock market drives 3.4% gain

— The Canadian Press

10:00 a.m.

Wall Street digests mixed reports on economy, TSX rises on energy, financial stocks

U.S. stocks are drifting Thursday following mixed reports on the economy, as this week’s big swings on Wall Street calm a bit.

The S&P 500 was 0.23 per cent higher in early trading, coming off a one per cent jump Wednesday that followed a 1.4 per cent tumble on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.42 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.25 per cent.

The mixed set of data on the United States’ economy included a report showing sales at retailers weakened by more in January from December than expected. It was a striking drop in spending by American households, whose strength despite high interest rates has helped keep the economy out of a recession. But the drop could also remove some upward pressure on inflation.

A separate report said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected, the latest signal of a solid job market despite high-profile announcements of layoffs. Other reports painted a mixed but better-than-feared picture of the manufacturing industry.

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In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.93 per cent on, or almost 200 points, on strength in financial, energy and materials stocks.

— Bloomberg, Financial Post

9:25 a.m.

Annual pace of housing starts in January down 10% from December, CMHC says

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in January fell 10 per cent compared with December.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts came it at 223,589 units for the first month of the year compared with 248,968 for December 2023.

The decrease came as the annual pace of urban housing starts fell 11 per cent to 208,119 units, with the pace of multi-unit urban starts down 14 per cent at 164,789 units and single-detached urban starts up 0.08 per cent at 43,330 units.

The annual rate of housing starts in Toronto were up 179 per cent, boosted by an increase in multi-unit starts, however Montreal fell 28 per cent and Vancouver dropped 55 per cent due to drops in multi-unit starts.

The annual rate of rural starts was estimated at 15,470.

The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts in January was 244,827, down two per cent from 249,757 units in December 2023.

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— The Canadian Press

9:11 a.m.

Cenovus reports Q4 profit down from a year earlier

Cenovus Energy Inc. reported a fourth-quarter of $743 million, down from $784 million a year earlier, as its revenue also edged lower.

The company says the profit amounted to 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31.

The result compared with a profit of 39 cents per diluted share a year earlier when it had more shares outstanding.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $13.13 billion, down from $14.06 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Cenovus reported total upstream production of 808,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 806,900 a year earlier.

Downstream throughput was 579,100 barrels per day, up from 473,300 a year earlier.

— The Canadian Press

7:30 a.m.

Canadian Tire sales, profit fall as consumer demand softens

Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. reported its fourth-quarter profit and revenue fell compared with a year ago as it said it navigated a challenging economic environment.

The retailer said it earned a profit attributable to shareholders of $172.5 million, or $3.09 per diluted share, for the 13-week period ended Dec. 30.

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The result compared with a profit of $531.9 million, or $9.09 per diluted share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Canadian Tire said its normalized diluted earnings per share for the quarter came to $3.38 compared with $9.34 a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $4.44 billion, down from $5.34 billion in its fourth quarter of 2022.

The company said consolidated comparable sales were down 6.8 per cent as it saw a softening of consumer demand, compounded by weaker sales due to unseasonable weather across the country in December.

— The Canadian Press

Stock markets before the opening bell

United States stock futures ticked higher after a recovery that powered the S&P 500 back to the 5,000 mark, with investors braced for the next batch of data on the US economy that could help shape rate bets.

Favourable earnings reports have been a salve for investors stung by Tuesday’s hotter-than-expected US inflation reading and disappointed they may have to wait longer for interest rate cuts. Contracts on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 added 0.1 per cent, while Europe’s Stoxx 600 index surged to the highest in more than a month.

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Treasuries also rebounded as investors braced for more economic reports that could help determine the Federal Reserve’s rate path. Data due later include initial jobless claims, industrial production and retail sales.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 1.48 per cent on Wednesday.

— Bloomberg

What to watch today

New Brunswick Finance Minister Ernie Steeves will announce the province’s third-quarter financial results for 2023-24.

The Empire Club of Canada hosts a talk with artificial intelligence experts, including startup founders, researchers and venture capitalists.

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson will deliver remarks and make a critical minerals funding announcement at the Canada-U.K. Industrial Decarbonization Forum in London, England. He will also participate in a fireside chat with Mike Crabtree, chief executive of the Saskatchewan Research Council, on concrete steps Canada is taking to decarbonize emission-intensive industrial sectors and build a clean and prosperous economy.

Expect fresh data this morning on housing starts, construction investment, and manufacturing sales and orders. In the United States, expect initial jobless claims, retail sales, trade price indices and the Philadelphia Fed index.

Earnings today include Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd., Cenovus Energy Inc. and Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd.

Need a refresher on yesterday’s top headlines? Get caught up here.

Additional reporting by The Canadian Press, Associated Press and Bloomberg

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