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.
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.
Adjusted 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.
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