Wendy’s Withdraws Outlook as U.S. Sales Slide

The Tip Desk · August 7, 2026 · 2 min read

Second-quarter revenue rose 1.7% to $570.6 million even as restaurant traffic remained under pressure.

Wendy’s Co. (WEN), the fast-food restaurant operator, reported a 6.3% decline in second-quarter global same-restaurant sales as weakness in its U.S. business continued.

The comparable-sales decline eased from 6.8% in the first quarter, but broader sales trends deteriorated. Global systemwide sales fell 6.5% year over year to $3.42 billion, compared with a 5.5% decline in the prior quarter.

Adjusted earnings fell 37.9% to $0.18 a share, while net income declined 40.8% to $32.6 million. Operating profit dropped 24.0% to $79.3 million, a steeper year-over-year contraction than in the first quarter, though each measure improved sequentially.

U.S. systemwide sales declined 8.2%, worsening from a 7.3% drop in the first quarter. U.S. same-restaurant sales performed somewhat better, narrowing their decline to 7.0% from 7.8%, while international comparable sales fell 2.3% after slipping 0.4% a quarter earlier.

Lower traffic, commodity inflation and wage inflation continued to weigh on company-operated restaurants, partly offset by higher average checks and labor efficiencies. U.S. restaurant margin fell 240 basis points from a year earlier to 13.8%, though it recovered from 11.4% in the first quarter.

The company also recorded 71 net restaurant closures globally, including 81 in the U.S. Those totals improved from 146 global and 164 U.S. net closures in the first quarter, although Wendy’s restaurant count fell sequentially to 7,180.

Wendy’s withdrew its full-year 2026 outlook after reaffirming it in the first quarter, as new leadership was assessing the business and developing a turnaround plan.

The company cut its dividend to an annualized $0.28 a share and declared a quarterly payment of $0.07 a share to preserve capital for the turnaround. Wendy’s reported no second-quarter or subsequent third-quarter share repurchases through the release date, leaving $35.0 million authorized.