Wendy's lowers guidance as US sales struggle

Square burger specialist Wendy’s reported a 1.8% decline in global systemwide sales in its second quarter on Friday, to $3.7bn, prompting a downgrade to its full-year guidance amid continued pressure on its US business.

  • Wendy's Co
  • 08 August 2025 13:30:50
Wendys

Source: Sharecast

The fast-food chain’s revised forecast now anticipated global sales to fall between 3% and 5%, compared to earlier projections of a flat to 2% decline.

Earnings per share rose 7.4% year-on-year to 29 cents, exceeding Wall Street estimates by four cents, while total revenue dipped 1.7% to $560.9m.

Operating profit rose nearly 5% to $104.3m, aided by reduced advertising and administrative costs.

Net income edged up 0.9% to $55.1m.

International sales remained a bright spot, growing 8.7% across all regions.

However, US systemwide sales fell 3.3%, driven by declining traffic and weaker same-restaurant sales.

The company cited commodity and labour inflation as contributing to a squeeze on US company-operated restaurant margins, though average spend sizes were higher.

“We have work to do to improve the overall performance of the business,” said interim chief executive officer Ken Cook, who assumed the role in July.

“We will continue to strengthen relationships with franchisees, improve the effectiveness of our marketing programs, and elevate the customer experience.”

Wendy’s added 26 net new restaurants in the quarter and said it remained on track to deliver 2% to 3% net unit growth for the full year.

Capital spend and franchise development investments were expected to total between $165m and $175m.

Despite soft sales, the company returned $88.7m to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.

It repurchased 4.8 million shares in the quarter and declared a regular quarterly dividend of 14 cents per share, payable on 16 September.

Wendy’s said it now expected adjusted earnings per share for 2025 to range between 82 cents and 89 cents, down from prior guidance of 92 cents to 98 cents.

Adjusted EBITDA was forecast between $505m and $525m, a reduction from the previous range of $530m to $545m.

At 0820 EDT (1320 BST), shares in the Wendy’s Company were down 0.7% in premarket trading in New York at $9.89.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Compare our accounts

If you're looking to grow your money over the longer term (5+ years), we have a range of investment choices to help.

Lloyds Bank is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the Markets News articles. We may not share the views of the author. Understand the risks, please remember the value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invest. We don't provide advice so if you are in any doubt about buying and selling shares or making your own investment decisions we recommend you seek advice from a suitably qualified Financial Advisor. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Important legal information

Lloyds and Lloyds Bank are trading names of Halifax Share Dealing Limited. The Lloyds Bank Direct Investments Service is operated by Halifax Share Dealing Limited. Registered Office: Trinity Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 2RG. Registered in England and Wales no. 3195646. Halifax Share Dealing Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, 12 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1JN under registration number 183332. A Member of the London Stock Exchange and an HM Revenue & Customs Approved ISA Manager.

Logo Allfunds

The information contained within this website is provided by Allfunds Digital, S.L.U. acting through its business division Digital Look Ltd unless otherwise stated. The information is not intended to be advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any of the shares, companies or investment vehicles mentioned, nor is it information meant to be a research recommendation. This is a solution powered by Allfunds Digital, S.L.U. acting through its business division Digital Look Ltd incorporating their prices, data news, charts, fundamentals and investor tools on this site. Terms and conditions apply. Prices and trades are provided by Allfunds Digital, S.L.U. acting through its business division Digital Look Ltd and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

FE fundinfo Logo

Data provided by FE fundinfo. Care has been taken to ensure that the information is correct, but FE fundinfo neither warrants, represents nor guarantees the contents of information, nor does it accept any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions or any inconsistencies herein. Past performance does not predict future performance, it should not be the main or sole reason for making an investment decision. The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise.

Refinitiv Logo

© 2025 Refinitiv, an LSEG business. All rights reserved.