Operations

Sales continue to fall as Wendy's struggles in 4th quarter

Wendy's food

February 13, 2026

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Wendy's continues to struggle in its fourth quarter as same-store sales fell 10.1% compared with the 8.5% decline expected by analysts. The decline hailed from the U.S. business, where sale-store sales fell 11.3%. The brand's sales fell 2% internationally, according to a press release.

Global systemwide sales for the fourth quarter were $3.4 billion, a decrease of 8.3%, and for the full year were $14.0 billion, a decrease of 3.5%.

The brand added 34 restaurants in the fourth quarter, bringing total additions to 157 net new restaurants for the full year, an increase of 2.2%.

Reported net income for the fourth quarter and full year were $26.5 million and $165.1 million, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter and full year were $113.3 million and $522.4 million, respectively.
Reported diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter and full year were $0.14 and $0.85, respectively. Adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter and full year were $0.16 and $0.88, respectively.
Net cash provided by operating activities for the full year was $344.5 million and free cash flow for the full year was $205.4 million.
Returned $329.6 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases for the full year, an increase of over $48 million from the prior year.

"Our fourth quarter performance was in line with our expectations, reflecting the challenges we anticipated," Ken Cook, interim CEO, said in the release. "We are making progress against our Project Fresh turnaround plan in the U.S. and continue to deliver strong growth internationally. International systemwide sales were up 6.2% in the quarter and 8.1% for the full year, supported by 121 net new restaurants in 2025, reinforcing the global strength of the Wendy's brand.

"We're encouraged by the operational improvements we've driven at U.S. company-operated restaurants and our marketing calendar for 2026, which includes new everyday Biggie value offerings and upcoming innovation across our core menu. We're executing Project Fresh with urgency to strengthen our foundation and position Wendy's for long-term success."

The brand said the decrease in U.S. company-operated restaurant margin was primarily due to a decline in traffic, commodity inflation and labor rate inflation. These were partially offset by an increase in average check and labor efficiencies.

The brand also released it's full-year financials, which also saw a global systemwide sales decrease primarily due to lower same-restaurant sales in the U.S. segment, partially offset by contributions from net new restaurant openings and same-restaurant sales growth in the International segment.

This year, the burger brand expects flat global systemwide sales growth with an adjusted EBITDA of $460 to $480 million.

The Wendy's Company has more than 7,000 restaurants worldwide.