Wendy’s shares rose on Friday after the fast-food giant reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, beating analyst estimates despite poor U.S. store performance, with U.S. same-restaurant sales falling 7.8%.
That slow but steady growth reflects the burger chain’s effort to turn around sales by shedding low-performing American restaurants and improving menu quality. The plan comes amid an overall decline in fast-food store traffic, as American consumers grapple with higher prices and the cost of food and living soars.
“We are in the early innings of our turnaround,” Ken Cook, Wendy’s CFO and interim CEO, told analysts on Friday’s earnings call.
In the earnings report, Wendy’s shared that it had 5,979 U.S. restaurants at the beginning of Q4 2025, when it first announced its turnaround plan. By the end of Q1 2026, it had 5,805 restaurants—adding up to a net loss of 174 locations over those months.
Fast Company has reached out to Wendy’s to confirm the number of store closures and a list of those locations. (Cook previously announced the company would be closing some 200 to 350 underperforming U.S. store locations this year.)
Wendy’s quarterly revenue came in at $540.6 million, beating analyst estimates of $520.48 million, for a 3.3% increase from the same period last year. The company’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at 12 cents, versus expectations of 10 cents.
Shares in The Wendy’s Co. (Nasdaq: WEN) rose over 4% in morning trading, and were up some 2% by midday Friday at the time of this writing.
“We are taking decisive action to strengthen the Wendy’s system and improve performance,” Cook said in a statement. “While our first quarter results reflect a business in the early stages of a turnaround, we are making progress to improve our U.S. business and are confident in the direction we are heading.”
Cook said those improvements include a new Biggie platform, upgrading Wendy’s premium hamburgers, and launching new chicken sandwiches. He credited the company’s focus on operational excellence in “driving improvement in order accuracy and key customer satisfaction metrics,” adding that while U.S. sales lag, “our international business continues to deliver strong results, with systemwide sales up 6% . . . supported by further expansion in key growth markets.”
Those growth markets include China. On Friday, Cook announced a new franchise agreement to build up to 1,000 restaurants across China over the next 10 years.
“These actions are strengthening our foundation and positioning Wendy’s to regain momentum and deliver sustainable growth and long-term value creation,” Cook said.