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Fundamentals snapshot

The Wendy's Company

WEN · NMS · Consumer Cyclical · Restaurants

Current price

$8.34

52-week range

$5.94 - $9.45

Market cap

$1.59B

One-glance verdict

Undervalued

$15.35 our estimate vs market $8.34

Wall Street consensus: $8.04 (-47.7% lower than our fair-value estimate)

Balance sheet

Distressed

2.80x Stretched

Net debt $3.68B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.

What this company does

The Wendy's Company

Wendy's is a fast-food chain that primarily sells burgers, chicken sandwiches, and Frosty desserts. Most of its money comes from selling food at its restaurants and from franchise fees (money it receives from people who own and operate Wendy's locations under its brand name). This matters because it shows how the company makes money and where its business is strongest, helping us understand its overall financial health.

Price history

How the share price has moved

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Earnings history

Last 8 quarters — what happened

Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.

Free cash flow by quarter (oldest to newest)
FY2024 Q4 $26.60M FY2025 Q1 $67.74M FY2025 Q2 $39.22M FY2025 Q3 $104.26M FY2025 Q4 $31.40M FY2026 Q1 $47.51M FY2026 Q2 $81.01M FY2026 Q3 $61.71M
Revenue $546.99M
Net income $15.09M
Diluted EPS 0.08
Operating cash flow $78.99M
Free cash flow $61.71M
Revenue $570.57M
Net income $32.62M
Diluted EPS 0.17
Operating cash flow $100.57M
Free cash flow $81.01M
Revenue $540.64M
Net income $22.71M
Diluted EPS 0.12
Operating cash flow $59.39M
Free cash flow $47.51M
Revenue $542.97M
Net income $26.48M
Diluted EPS 0.14
Operating cash flow $69.28M
Free cash flow $31.40M
Revenue $549.52M
Net income $44.25M
Diluted EPS 0.23
Operating cash flow $129.25M
Free cash flow $104.26M
Revenue $560.93M
Net income $55.11M
Diluted EPS 0.29
Operating cash flow $60.59M
Free cash flow $39.22M
Revenue $523.47M
Net income $39.23M
Diluted EPS 0.19
Operating cash flow $85.42M
Free cash flow $67.74M
Revenue $574.27M
Net income $47.50M
Diluted EPS 0.23
Operating cash flow $68.63M
Free cash flow $26.60M

Is it cheap or expensive?

Fair value $15.35 vs current price $8.34

Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $8.04 (-47.7% lower than our fair-value estimate).

Our most-likely fair value is $15.35 a share — about 84.1% above today's price of $8.34, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).

undervalued

We estimate the cash this business should generate over the next 10 years and beyond, then convert it to today's money for a fair value per share, in its trading currency. Cautious, middle and optimistic growth cases give a range. Not for banks/insurers.

Base

Growth 5.0% · Discount 7.2% · Terminal 2.5%

$15.35

Bear

Growth 2.5% · Discount 7.2% · Terminal 2.5%

$10.58

Bull

Growth 8.0% · Discount 7.2% · Terminal 2.5%

$22.01

Is it drowning in debt?

Distressed

Net debt $3.7B. Interest coverage 2.8x.

Net debt $3.68B
Interest coverage 2.80x

The Wendy's Company's profit covers its interest bill about 2.8 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here.

Distressed
Worse cushion Baseline Better cushion
WEN BASELINE The Wendy's Company

Total debt $4.05B Interest coverage 2.80x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.

2.80x
YUM Yum! Brands, Inc.

Total debt $12.75B Interest coverage 5.05x +80% vs WEN Carries about 1.8x more debt cushion than WEN.

5.05x +80% vs WEN
CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

Total debt $5.60B Interest coverage 27.30x +874% vs WEN Carries about 9.7x more debt cushion than WEN.

27.30x +874% vs WEN
QSR Restaurant Brands International Inc.

Total debt $15.67B Interest coverage 4.78x +70% vs WEN Carries about 1.7x more debt cushion than WEN.

4.78x +70% vs WEN
MCD McDonald's Corporation

Total debt $54.54B Interest coverage 7.83x +180% vs WEN Carries about 2.8x more debt cushion than WEN.

7.83x +180% vs WEN

What you should know

The case for and against WEN

3 Rewards 3 Risks

Rewards

  • Revenue grew 1.1% last year.
  • Returns 82.9% on equity, ahead of 66% of its peers.
  • Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.

Risks

  • Forward P/E (16.5x) is higher than trailing (16.4x) - earnings are expected to drop.
  • Net debt grew 8.7% over 3 years.
  • Operating margin compressed from 16.9% to 11.0% over 3 years.

The numbers

All the key metrics, grouped by purpose

Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.

Valuation

How expensive the stock looks

P/E (TTM)
16.35x
Forward P/E
16.46x
P/B
12.81x
P/S
0.72x
EV/EBITDA
12.41x
PEG ratio
1.54x

Profitability

How much profit each dollar creates

Gross margin
32.3%
Operating margin
11.0%
Net margin
4.4%
ROE
82.9%
ROA
3.4%

Health

Liquidity and balance-sheet strength

Debt / equity
32.56x
Current ratio
1.89x
Quick ratio
1.47x
Total debt
$4.05B
Total cash
$373.70M

Growth

How the business has been compounding

Revenue TTM
$2.20B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
3.5%
EPS TTM
0.51
EPS 5Y CAGR
1.2%

Cash flow

How much cash the business throws off

Operating CF TTM
$308.23M
Free CF TTM
$242.62M
FCF margin
11.0%

Dividend

Shareholder payout

Yield
3.4%
Payout ratio
96.1%
Last ex-div date
2026-12-01