TOP STORIES

Restaurant Brands Up After 1Q Earnings Beat Analyst Views

Restaurant Brands International Inc. shares rose in Friday trading.

U.S.-listed shares were up 2% to $69.33 in afternoon trading and shares in Toronto were up 2% to C$84.95.

The company before the market open reported first-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates.

The quick-service restaurant company, which owns the Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes brands, reported first-quarter earnings per share of 58 cents, up from 48 cents in the year-ago period.

Burger King Aims To Build Back Better At Breakfast -- Market Talk

09:59 ET - Restaurant Brands International says its Burger King brand's breakfast offering still needs work, and the company and its franchisees are focused on bumping it up from 13% of total sales. Despite mentioning breakfast improvements several times over the last year, CEO Jose Cil says in 1Q earnings, "[we] frankly haven't made much progress." Restaurant owners are working with the company to develop a long-term breakfast plan, Cil says. McDonald's said new bakery items helped its breakfast sales to swing up after dragging earlier in the pandemic. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)

McDonald's Pilots Deliveries via Own App in Partnership With Uber

McDonald's Corp. is piloting an option which will allow customers to order food for delivery from within its own app, in a partnership with Uber Technologies Inc.

The companies said Friday that customers in the U.K. would be able to choose a delivery option from within the My McDonald's app, which will be fulfilled by couriers working through Uber's platform.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Nestlé Expands in Vitamins With $5.75 Billion Nature's Bounty Deal -- Update

Nestlé SA has agreed to buy the main brands of vitamins maker Bountiful Co. for $5.75 billion, in the Swiss food giant's latest move to capitalize on growing demand for minerals and nutritional supplements.

The world's biggest packaged-food company said Friday the deal would add brands including Nature's Bounty, Solgar, Osteo Bi-Flex and Puritan's Pride to its offering. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Nestlé was in talks to buy the company, which is majority-owned by private-equity firm KKR & Co.

FUTURES MARKETS

Hog Futures Close Up For Week -- Market Talk

15:49 ET - In a volatile week for grain trading, lean hog futures close higher, rising 2.8% to $1.09725 per pound on Friday. That makes it 4.3% rise in the past week, and 8.4% over the past two weeks--fueled largely by an uptick in cutout prices amid expectations of higher demand from the food service industry. Live cattle futures, meanwhile, closed Friday up 0.5% to $1.16575 per pound, and up 0.4% for the week. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS 


 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Apr 30 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Apr 30       -$ 21.95            +$ 92.41 
 
Apr 29       -$ 26.29            +$ 87.77 
 
Apr 28       -$ 25.86            +$ 87.90 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                  Beef 
          For Today              Choice   83.0 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select   83.3 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday rose $2.74 per hundred pounds, to $296.50, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $3.26 per hundred pounds, to $283.05. The total load count was 78. Wholesale pork prices rose $2.16, to $108.72 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-30-21 1739ET