Wendy’s will shutter hundreds of US restaurants after reporting an 11.3% sales plunge in its home market, with several locations already closed.
The company said it plans to shut down about 5% to 6% of its US restaurants in the first half of 2026 — or about 240 to 360 locations.
Wendy’s has already ceased operations at restaurants in West Lafayette, Ind.; Stockton, Calif.; and Langhorne, Pa.
The burger chain reported a 10% drop in global comparable sales in the fourth quarter, including the 11.3% decline in the US — its largest market.
The results fell short of Wall Street expectations and capped off a bruising end to the year for the company.
Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter came in at $113.3 million, narrowly topping analyst estimates of about $112.6 million.
Adjusted earnings per share were 16 cents, beating expectations of 14 to 15 cents, while revenue of $540.75 million was roughly in line with forecasts.
For the full year, Wendy’s reported adjusted EBITDA of $522.4 million and adjusted earnings of 88 cents per share.
But investors focused on the outlook as the company projected 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $460 million to $480 million and adjusted EPS of 56 cents to 60 cents — far below analyst expectations of about 86 cents per share and, in the case of EBITDA, below even the lowest estimate. That sent shares sharply lower.
By early Friday afternoon, the stock had clawed back its losses, rising 3.65% to $7.54 as of 1:43 p.m. Eastern Time, after trading in a range of $7.08 to $7.93 during the session.
“A key pillar of [Wendy’s] strategy is system optimization, which is about having the right footprint in each market to improve franchisee economics and enhance the customer experience,” the chain said in a statement.
“By closing consistently underperforming restaurants, we’re enabling our franchisee partners to increase focus on locations with the greatest potential for profitable growth.”
Wendy’s move to cut its outlook and close hundreds of restaurants shows the fast-food chain has finally pushed customers too far, said William Stern, founder of San Diego-based fintech firm Cardiff.
“For two years, these companies treated the customer like an infinite ATM,” he told The Post.
“Just raising prices every quarter to pad the margins. Well the ATM is empty now. You can only squeeze people so hard before they stop showing up.”
He argued the sales slump is a clearer warning sign than government inflation data. The Consumer Price Index slowed last month.
“Forget the CPI,” Stern said. “This is the real inflation gauge right here. When Americans stop buying fast food it means the bottom half of the economy is completely tapped out.”
He added that repeated price hikes ultimately backfired.
“They pushed the price until the customer snapped,” he said. “You can’t price gouge your way to growth forever. Eventually you have to actually sell burgers people can afford.”
A wave of Reddit comments echoed Stern’s perspective.
One user wrote, “If I’m going to pay $15+ for a meal I’m going to support local/independent.”
“I stopped last week to get a single. I saw the price and left,” another customer recounted.
Others said promotions on the Wendy’s app have gotten worse.
“A year ago, I would eat Wendy’s 3 times a week… I haven’t been back in 4 months. Rising prices, lower quality and there’s no incentive to use the app anymore,” one person wrote.
Another remarked, “Without the app deals they used to have, it’s just not worth it.”
Complaints also focused on allegedly shrinking portions and ingredient changes.
“When you shrink a product and raise the price, you lose your base customer,” one user wrote.
Another said, “The lettuce was the straw for me. It’s nasty and changed the entire feel of the product.”
