Popeyes is trying to stop a rough start to 2026 from turning into a financial catastrophe. Parent company Restaurant Brands International recently revealed that Popeyes posted a 6.5% drop in same-store sales during the first quarter, marking the chain’s weakest quarterly performance in roughly two decades. According to Restaurant Business , the downturn extends a slide that had already been building throughout 2025. Popeyes ended last year with four straight quarters of negative same-store sales, including declines of 2% in Q3 and 4.9% in Q4. Systemwide sales also dipped 0.5% in 2025 before falling another 3.9% to begin 2026. Despite the numbers, RBI executives said the company is already pushing through a turnaround strategy focused on restaurant operations, menu simplification, and value pricing. “While results were softer than we’d like to see, we have a clear understanding of the underlying drivers and are moving quickly to address them,” RBI CEO Josh Kobza said during the company’s earnings call.…