Burger King attributes its massive growth to a global development playbook that doubled its international store count since 2012 to nearly 12,000 locations and roughly 60 percent of its worldwide systemwide sales.
As a result, Burger King added more stores outside the US than McDonald's has, including North America over the past decade.
Restaurant Brands International COO Joshua Kobza noted that the success of their expansion plan is readily apparent when looking at their international growth.
He added that in numerous markets like China, France, and Russia, they started from scratch.
That means identifying strong local partners, entering into a long-term master franchise and development agreement, and creating a robust business with a lasting presence and continued runway for growth.
Burger King diverted its focus to growing its global footprint rather than trying to unseat McDonald's in the U.S.
The international growth strategy is deemed a path of lesser resistance than trying to take on the clear leader in its home market, and one that has been working to make Burger King more of a true rival to McDonald's.
In the US, Burger King is a distant second behind McDonald's in the fast-food burger race.
McDonald's has over 39,000 stores around the world with about 18,000 of those being in North America.


FDA Targets Hims & Hers Over $49 Weight-Loss Pill, Raising Legal and Safety Concerns
Samsung Electronics Shares Jump on HBM4 Mass Production Report
SoftBank Shares Slide After Arm Earnings Miss Fuels Tech Stock Sell-Off
India–U.S. Interim Trade Pact Cuts Auto Tariffs but Leaves Tesla Out
Japanese Pharmaceutical Stocks Slide as TrumpRx.gov Launch Sparks Market Concerns
Japan Economy Poised for Q4 2025 Growth as Investment and Consumption Hold Firm
South Africa Eyes ECB Repo Lines as Inflation Eases and Rate Cuts Loom
SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates
DBS Expects Slight Dip in 2026 Net Profit After Q4 Earnings Miss on Lower Interest Margins
Prudential Financial Reports Higher Q4 Profit on Strong Underwriting and Investment Gains
Russian Stocks End Mixed as MOEX Index Closes Flat Amid Commodity Strength
Gold and Silver Prices Rebound After Volatile Week Triggered by Fed Nomination
Bank of Japan Signals Readiness for Near-Term Rate Hike as Inflation Nears Target
UK Starting Salaries See Strongest Growth in 18 Months as Hiring Sentiment Improves
U.S.-India Trade Framework Signals Major Shift in Tariffs, Energy, and Supply Chains
Nvidia, ByteDance, and the U.S.-China AI Chip Standoff Over H200 Exports
Yen Slides as Japan Election Boosts Fiscal Stimulus Expectations 



