Wendy’s Shares Rise Despite Weak 2026 Earnings Guidance

Core Viewpoint - Wendy's reported fourth-quarter earnings that slightly exceeded analyst expectations, but the 2026 outlook fell short of Wall Street forecasts Financial Performance - Adjusted EPS for the fourth quarter was $0.16, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 [1] - Revenue reached $543 million, surpassing expectations of $537.55 million [1] - For full-year 2025, adjusted EPS was $0.88, down 12% from $1.00 in 2024 [4] Sales and Growth - Global systemwide sales declined 8.3% to $3.4 billion in the quarter [2] - Same-restaurant sales fell 10.1% globally and 11.3% in the United States [2] - International markets showed strength with systemwide sales increasing 6.2% in the fourth quarter and 8.1% for the full year [3] - Wendy's added 34 net new restaurants in the quarter, totaling 157 net additions for the year, representing 2.2% growth [3] Margin and Cost Factors - U.S. company-operated restaurant margin declined to 12.7% from 16.5% a year earlier due to weaker traffic, commodity cost inflation, and higher labor expenses [3] Future Guidance - For 2026, Wendy's guided to earnings per share of $0.56 to $0.60, significantly below analyst expectations of $0.85 [2] - The company projected flat global systemwide sales growth for the upcoming year [2]