Consumer sentiment is in an in-between phase at the moment.

While consumer confidence based on the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index edged slightly higher in January, it also indicated customers are still adopting a cautious approach toward the job market and the overall condition of America’s business sector.

Yet despite this backdrop, spending has reached an all-time high of $16.6 trillion as of September 2025.

This combination of weak sentiment and sustained spending creates an environment where consumers could move in either direction, putting businesses in a difficult spot especially when consumers feel squeezed. 

This dynamic plays well to the strengths of Restaurant Brands (QSR), a leading player in the quick-service restaurant industry.

Over the past decade, the company has delivered strong returns of 40%. However, the market continues to undervalue this quick-service restaurant operator.

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Consumer sentiment is in a strange, in-between phase right now.

While consumer confidence based on the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index edged slightly higher in January, indicating customers are still adopting a cautionary approach toward the job market and the overall condition of America’s business sector.

Moreover, households are still worried about inflation and job uncertainty. 

Yet despite this gloomy backdrop, spending has yet to fall apart completely. Real personal consumption expenditures as of September 2025 reached an all-time high of $16.6 trillion.

This combination of weak sentiment and steady spending creates an unusual environment where consumers could move in either direction, making things very difficult for businesses. And unfortunately, very few businesses thrive when consumers feel squeezed. 

Fortunately, this dynamic plays well to the strengths of Restaurant Brands (QSR), a leading player in the quick-service restaurant industry,

The company, headquartered in Canada, operates over 32,000 restaurants in more than 120 territories across the globe. It only lags behind McDonald’s (MCD), Starbucks (SBUX), and Subway in terms of locations. 

Restaurant Brands was formed in 2014 following the $12.5 billion merger of American chain Burger King and Canadian coffee brand Tim Hortons. In 2017, the company added Popeyes to its portfolio, before acquiring Firehouse subs in 2021.

The quick-service restaurant firm is uniquely positioned because it owns brands that offer consumer staples like coffee and affordable breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals.

This means that when the economic situation goes from healthy to uncertain and consumer sentiment goes from confident to weak, the company will hold up well because diners will simply trade down from higher-priced options to more affordable ones.

Since 2017, Restaurant Brands has grown its store base from 24,000 to 32,000 while revenue has more than doubled from $4.5 billion to $9.2 billion as of September 2025.

Restaurant Brands’ biggest advantage doesn’t just stem from its market positioning but also from how its business is built. 

The company operates on a franchise-based model, enabling it to scale quickly without deploying massive amounts of capital, all while maintaining strong profitability.

Uniform Accounting shows just how profitable this company is despite the challenges it faces.

From 2016 to 2024, the company delivered an average Uniform return on assets (“ROA”) of 40%, more than triple the corporate average. Meanwhile, asset growth for 2024 reached 16%.