The Wendy's Company

WEN

Restaurants · Consumer Cyclical

Price

$7.76

-0.07 (-0.89%)

Market Cap

$1.48B

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is serious

Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.

Share count falling — buybacks

−13.5% over 3y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 224.4M (2022) → 194.0M (2025)

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company. It operates through three segments: Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches. As of January 2, 2022, it operated approximately 403 company-operated restaurants; 5,535 franchised restaurants in the United States; and 1,006 fr

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

2 trades / 12mo

1 Congressional buy and 1 sell on WEN in the last 12 months.

Unlock the full Smart Money Map — every trade plotted on the price chart with politicians, amounts and returns since each trade. Founder's Deal is $57/mo locked for life.

Unlock politician trades

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-56.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

+20.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady EPS growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

17.6%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$299M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Revenue declining

The Wendy's Company's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin

10.8%

Thin — 10.8% gross margin

Operating Margin

-2.3%

Losing money on operations — -2.3%

ROCE

-0.1%

Weak — -0.1% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Growth

Sales YoY

-15.9%

Shrinking sales (-15.9% YoY)

EPS YoY

-5.3%

Earnings shrinking (-5.3% YoY)

Slight earnings drop. Typical near a cyclical low.

EPS Consistency

4/8 quarters

Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

186%

Turns 186% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

11.8%

Modest free cash flow (11.8%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Stability

Debt / Equity

35.63

Heavy debt load (35.63)

Interest Cover

4.12x

Adequate interest coverage (4.1x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

8.6x

Attractive valuation — P/E 8.6

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

P/E vs Forward

-2.0

SLOWING

Earnings expected to fall — forward P/E higher than today

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Dividends

Dividend Yield

7.42%

Healthy income — 7.42% yield

Yield above 6% — often a flag the market is pricing in a cut.

Dividend Growth

-37.1%

Dividend cut (-37.1% YoY) — warning sign

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

🔒 See full fundamentals and if they are improving or declining — click here for your free trial now.

Start free trial