The Wendy's Company (WEN) Stock

The Wendy's Company (WEN) is a Consumer Discretionary stock trading at $6.99 (as of 2026-07-24), with a market capitalization of $1.33B and a trailing P/E of 8.3. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

The Wendy’s Company, through its subsidiaries, operates a quick-service restaurant system focused on hamburger sandwiches, with operations in Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate & Development. It runs company-owned restaurants and franchises restaurants in the U.S. and internationally, and it also owns and leases real estate used by franchisees.

Understand The Wendy's Company: how it makes money

Wendy's runs and franchises quick-service hamburger restaurants, and it makes money from company-operated restaurant sales as well as recurring franchise revenues such as royalties, advertising funds, and franchise fees, plus income from owning and leasing real estate.

The profit engine is franchise economics tied to systemwide sales, because the company earns recurring franchise royalty revenue and advertising funds revenue based on the franchise restaurant system, while company-operated restaurant revenue adds a smaller, more directly operating business component.

Business quality (Solid): We have solid operating KPI inputs and revenue-type breakdowns, but the provided data does not map those revenue figures to Wendy's official reportable segments (Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, Global Real Estate & Development).

Valuation: At 9× earnings, WEN trades 66% below the Restaurants, Hotels & Motels average (27×). Note: one-time items can distort reported P/E.

Bull case

System demand and same-restaurant sales are positive: Global Same-Restaurant Sales One-Year Basis is 6.8% and United States Same-Restaurant Sales One-Year Basis is 7.8%.
Franchise model provides a large, recurring base: As of January 2, 2022, Wendy's had 5,535 franchised restaurants in the United States and 1,006 franchised restaurants internationally, supporting Franchise Royalty Revenue (0.12B) and Advertising Funds Revenue (0.11B).
Digital mix is meaningful: Global Digital Sales Mix is 20.5% and United States Digital Sales Mix is 22.7%.

Bear case

Results can hinge on systemwide sales trends: Franchise Royalty Revenue and Advertising Funds Revenue are part of the revenue mix, so weakness in Global Systemwide Sales can pressure this recurring revenue stream.
Store growth is incremental: New Restaurant Openings are 54 and Net New Restaurants are 34, so momentum depends on continued unit expansion.
Execution remains a driver: Operational rollout metrics such as Global Reimaging Completion Percentage (89%) and Dining Room Open Percentage (85%) indicate ongoing execution requirements.

Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price	$6.99
Market Cap	$1.33B
P/E Ratio	8.3
EV / EBITDA	7.5
Price / Book	11.52
Price / Sales	0.61
FCF Yield	32.6%
DCF Value (model)	$21.76
DCF Upside vs Price	211.3%

Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)	$2.18B
Net Margin	7.6%
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-5.5%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-39.1%
FCF Growth (YoY)	18.0%

Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score	1.02 (distress)
Piotroski F-Score	4/9 (moderate)

Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E	8.3
Sector P/E (Consumer Discretionary)	21.6
Industry P/E (Restaurants, Hotels & Motels)	26.0
vs Sector	-61.7%
vs Industry	-68.2%

Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional Holder	TRIAN FUND MANAGEMENT, L.P. ($211.60M)
Institutional Holders Tracked	10

Company
Sector	Consumer Discretionary
Industry	Restaurants, Hotels & Motels
CEO	Kenneth Cook
Employees	4,833
Country	US
IPO Date	1980-05-06

Related Companies (Business model: Restaurant Operator / Franchisor; 8 closest by market cap; US-domiciled)

Data as of 2026-07-24.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.