US fast-food restaurant chain The Wendy’s Company has reported a revenue of $523.5m in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, a decrease of 2.1% from $534.8m posted in the same quarter previous year.
The decrease in total revenues was due to lower sales in company-operated restaurants, reduced advertising funds revenue, and decreased franchise royalty revenue, somewhat balanced by higher franchise fees.
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Adjusted revenue for Q1 2025 also saw a slight drop of 1.6% to $432.1m, compared to $429.8m in the same period previous year.
Net income for the quarter was down by 6.7% to $39.2m from $42m, while operating profit decreased 2.3% to $83.1m from $81.2m.
The company said net income was impacted by a decrease in investment income and an increase in interest expense, although an increase in operating profit provided some offset.
Wendy’s adjusted EBITDA experienced a 2.6% decline, standing at $124.5m compared to $127.8m in Q1 2024.
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By GlobalDataAdjusted EBITDA was affected by higher general and administrative expenses, lower franchise royalties, and a reduced margin in US company-operated restaurants.
The company’s global systemwide sales fell by 1.1% to $3.4bn, primarily due to lower same-restaurant sales in the US segment.
This was partially offset by the positive impact of new restaurant openings and same-restaurant sales growth internationally.
Despite this, Wendy’s added 68 net new restaurants and remains on track to achieve a full-year net unit growth of 2-3%. Digital sales reached a record high, accounting for 20.3% of the global sales mix.
Furthermore, Wendy’s returned $173.5m to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
During the first quarter of 2025, Wendy’s repurchased 8.2 million shares for $124.1m. As of 25 April, the company has bought back 12 million shares for $175m.
Approximately $60m remains available for share repurchases under the current authorisation, which expires in February 2027.
Wendy’s reaffirms its 2025 outlook, expecting a global net unit growth of 2 to 3% and capital expenditures ranging from $100m to $110m.
Wendy’s president and chief executive officer Kirk Tanner said: “We continued to deliver for our customers during the first quarter. In the U.S. we held both traffic and dollar share in a challenging consumer environment, and in our international business we grew systemwide sales by 8.9%.
“Importantly, we made progress on the strategic priorities we laid out at our investor day: providing fresh, famous food, delivering an exceptional customer experience, and accelerating global net unit growth. This included implementing a new field structure to better support franchisees and adding 68 net new restaurants across the globe.
“Looking ahead, we remain focused on these strategic priorities which will position Wendy’s to win in the market and drive long-term growth across our global system of restaurants.”
