The Wendy’s Co (WEN)
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Wendy’s shows up in our Reddit hype scanner with 32 mentions in 24 hours (as of July 15, 2026) — down about 65 percent from its all-time high, the square-patty chain looks like a bargain with a 7 percent dividend yield. We read the annual reports (10-K) for 2024 and 2025 and the quarterly report (10-Q) as of March 29, 2026: U.S. same-restaurant sales down 7.8 percent in the first quarter of 2026, a dividend cut by 44 percent, a turnaround plan that closes roughly every 18th U.S. restaurant — and $2,760 million of securitized debt for which substantially everything that makes this company valuable is pledged. Not investment advice — just a look inside the kitchen before you order.
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This stock currently matches 8 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
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Basics
Performance
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
AI Rating
Uses AIDie Berichte belegen operativen KI-Einsatz ohne KI-Umsatzquelle: Der Geschäftsbericht 10-K 2024 erklärt ausdrücklich, dass Wendy’s KI-Technologien „in bestimmte Bereiche unseres Restaurantbetriebs“ integriert; der 10-K 2025 nennt als Teil der Digitalstrategie den weiteren Rollout von digitalen Menütafeln, Kiosken und „in unsere Restaurants integrierter KI“. KI-Produkte als Umsatzquelle nennen die Filings nicht; die KI-Risikohinweise betreffen Umsetzung, Rechtsrahmen und Wettbewerb, nicht eine konkrete Bedrohung des Geschäftsmodells.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„The implementation and use of AI technologies, which we are incorporating into certain aspects of our restaurant operations and may become more important in our operations over time, present various risks and uncertainties, and the deficiencies or other failures of AI systems could subject us to competitive harm, regulatory action, legal liability and brand or reputational harm."
Die Einführung und Nutzung von KI-Technologien, die wir in bestimmte Bereiche unseres Restaurantbetriebs integrieren und die im Zeitverlauf für unseren Betrieb an Bedeutung gewinnen können, bringt verschiedene Risiken und Unsicherheiten mit sich, und Mängel oder sonstige Ausfälle von KI-Systemen könnten uns Wettbewerbsnachteilen, aufsichtsrechtlichen Maßnahmen, rechtlicher Haftung sowie Marken- oder Reputationsschäden aussetzen.
„If our digital commerce platforms and strategies, including our planned investments to support digital growth through enhancements to the Wendy’s mobile app, loyalty program and personalized marketing capabilities and the continued rollout and implementation of digital menu boards, kiosks and AI integrated in our restaurants, do not meet customers’ expectations in terms of security, privacy, speed, attractiveness or ease of use, customers may be less inclined to return to those platforms, which could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition."
Wenn unsere digitalen Handelsplattformen und -strategien — einschließlich der geplanten Investitionen in das digitale Wachstum durch Verbesserungen der Wendy’s-App, des Treueprogramms und personalisierter Marketingfähigkeiten sowie des weiteren Rollouts und der Einführung digitaler Menütafeln, Kioske und in unsere Restaurants integrierter KI — die Erwartungen der Kunden an Sicherheit, Datenschutz, Geschwindigkeit, Attraktivität oder Bedienkomfort nicht erfüllen, könnten Kunden weniger geneigt sein, zu diesen Plattformen zurückzukehren, was sich negativ auf unser Geschäft, unsere Ertragslage und unsere Finanzlage auswirken könnte.
„Furthermore, with the rapid advancement and proliferation of AI and other similar technologies, any efforts by us and our franchisees to incorporate such technologies into our business may require substantial resources to be expended and divert the attention of management and may also prove to be unsuccessful."
Darüber hinaus können angesichts des raschen Fortschritts und der Verbreitung von KI und ähnlichen Technologien alle Bemühungen von uns und unseren Franchisenehmern, solche Technologien in unser Geschäft zu integrieren, erhebliche Ressourcen erfordern, die Aufmerksamkeit des Managements binden und sich zudem als erfolglos erweisen.
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-05-08 · 10-Q 2025-11-07 · 10-Q 2025-08-08 · 10-Q 2025-05-02 · 10-K 2026-02-23 · 10-K 2025-02-21
Rated on July 15, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | 0.23 | 2.40 | 574 | 6.20 | 8.30 | 69 | 27 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.19 | -4.10 | 524 | -2.10 | 7.50 | 85 | 68 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.29 | 7.90 | 561 | -1.70 | 9.80 | 61 | 39 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.23 | -6.60 | 550 | -3.00 | 8.10 | 129 | 104 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.14 | -40.00 | 543 | -5.50 | 4.90 | 69 | 31 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.12 | -38.70 | 541 | 3.30 | 4.20 | 59 | 48 |
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
An asset-light franchise system (about 94 percent of 7,397 restaurants in franchisee hands) with predictable royalty, rental and advertising-fund streams: $344.5 million of operating and roughly $242.6 million of free cash flow in 2025 — the reduced dividend ($129.6 million) is comfortably covered (annual report 10-K for 2025).
U.S. same-restaurant sales minus 5.6 percent (2025) and minus 7.8 percent (Q1 2026), per the quarterly report primarily due to falling traffic; the company-operated restaurant margin fell from 13.6 to 10.8 percent, net income declined for the third year in a row, Q1 2026 minus 42 percent.
The shrinking cure is sound business (closing 5 to 6 percent of U.S. restaurants, focus on average unit volumes), but it costs systemwide sales and thus royalties — and the 44 percent dividend cut starting in Q2 2025 has already broken the stock’s income promise once; in parallel, $200 million went into share buybacks (2025).
$2,760 million of securitized debt against $117.4 million of equity (December 28, 2025); substantially all assets of certain subsidiaries pledged, including $962.7 million of brand and franchise rights; the December 2025 refinancing cost 5.422 instead of 3.783 percent, with about $1.34 billion due in 2028/2029 combined; interest coverage 2.6 (data as of July 8, 2026).
A P/E around 8, P/FCF around 6 and a 7 percent dividend yield meet a relative-strength rating of 12, a stage-4 downtrend and minus 65 percent from the high; including debt, the company costs roughly 16 times free cash flow. Against that: two insider purchases without a sale, 94 percent institutional ownership, Trian as anchor with just under 16 percent (data as of July 8, 2026).
Wendy’s is no bankruptcy candidate but a working licensing machine with thinning traffic: free cash flow of roughly $242.6 million (2025) carries the dividend and the overhaul, and a Piotroski score of 7 plus an Altman Z around 4.4 signal substance. But the guests in the U.S. core business are disappearing faster (minus 7.8 percent same-restaurant in Q1 2026), Project Fresh closes roughly every 18th U.S. restaurant, the dividend was cut 44 percent, and behind everything stands a securitization to which substantially everything is pledged — including the brand. Optically cheap; including debt, fairly priced for a business in reverse gear. Not investment advice.
- WEN reached our research list via the Reddit hype scanner (ApeWisdom, 32 mentions in 24 hours, as of July 15, 2026); attention waves of this kind are snapshots, not a quality verdict. The 8 hits in our in-house stock scanner carry the July 8, 2026 data cut-off and rotate daily.
- Scanner metrics (P/S, P/CF, P/FCF, interest coverage, Piotroski, Altman Z) are computed from trailing twelve-month figures; the dividend cut (Q2 2025) and the Q1 2026 closures show up in them only with a lag.
- Price and valuation figures are dated to July 8, 2026 (about $7.30, market value roughly $1.4 billion); analyses are evergreen, daily prices are not a buy argument.
About the Company
The Wendy's Company beschäftigt sich zusammen mit seinen Tochtergesellschaften mit dem Betrieb, der Entwicklung und der Franchisevergabe eines Systems von Schnellrestaurants in den USA und international. Das Unternehmen ist über die Wendy's U.
| Employees | 4,967 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Dublin, OH |
| Website | wendys.com |
| IPO Date | 17. Mar 1992 |
| Next Earnings | 14. Aug 2026 |
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| John K. Min | Chief Legal Officer & Secretary | 1980 |
| Eric J. Wunsch Esq. | President of International | 1971 |
| Kenneth Cook | Advisor | – |
| Pete Suerken | President of U.S. | – |
| Robert D. Wright | President, CEO & Director | 1967 |
| Steven W. Cirulis | Chief Financial Officer & Chief Strategy Officer | 1971 |
| Aaron M. Kale | Chief Accounting Officer, Principal Accounting Officer & VP of Tax | 1977 |
| Matthew P. Spessard | Chief Information Officer | 1983 |
| Aaron Broholm | Head of Investor Relations | – |
| Heidi S. Schauer | Vice President of Communications, Public Affairs & Customer Care | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
Data as of: July 20, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.