Wendy’s closes US restaurants and focuses on value to turn around falling sales
Wendy’s is closing several hundred U.S. restaurants and increasing its focus on value after a weaker-than-expected fourth quarter.
The Dublin, Ohio-based company said Friday that global same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 10% in the October-December period. That was worse than the 8.5% decline that analysts polled by FactSet had expected.
U.S. same-store sales fell further in the fourth quarter. Wendy said late last year It said it plans to close underperforming U.S. restaurants but provided more details about those closures on Friday.
Wendy’s said it has already closed 28 restaurants in the fourth quarter and will end 2025 with 5,969 locations in the United States. It expects to close 5% to 6% of its U.S. restaurants (or 298 to 358 locations) in the first half of this year.
These actions go above and beyond Closure of 240 US Wendy’s locations At the time, the 57-year-old chain said many of its locations were out of date.
like McDonald’sTaco Bell and fellow rival Wendy’s also plan to emphasize value as they try to win back inflation-weary customers.
“One lesson we learned from 2025 on value is that we have swung the pendulum too far toward limited-time price promotions rather than daily value,” Ken Cook, Wendy’s interim CEO and chief financial officer, said on a conference call with investors.
In January, Wendy’s introduced a permanent “Biggie Deals” value menu with three price tiers: $4 Biggie Bites, $6 Biggie Bags and $8 Biggie Bundle. Cook said Wendy’s will also have new products coming this year, including the new chicken sandwich.
Wendy’s said its revenue fell 5.5% to $543 million in the fourth quarter. This was higher than the $537 million analysts had predicted.
Wendy’s has expressed confidence that recovery plans in the U.S. and international growth will help stem the decline in sales this year. The company said it expects global systemwide sales, which include sales at both company-owned and franchised restaurants, to remain flat this year. Systemwide sales fell 3.5% last year.
Wendy’s shares rose nearly 5% in midday trading Friday.
