Stock Takes: What’s behind Restaurant Brand’s billion-dollar valuation slump?

A year ago, Restaurant Brands’ market capitalisation stood at $1.82 billion. Today, the company is worth just under $770 million. How has more than a billion dollars disappeared?

Sure, the entire market has sunk over
this time, but Restaurant Brands’ fall is still well below the drop that the NZX50 has experienced over the past year.

One analyst, speaking off the record, noted the loss of long-serving key management. In September, Restaurant Brands – whose brands include KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – announced that CEO Russell Creedy would retire at the end of March, with CFO Grant Ellis following him out the door at the end of May.

“That just creates uncertainty,” noted the analyst.

The whole food and beverage sector is under pressure from higher…