Wendy's Q3 2025 Earnings: U.S. Sales Slip, International Growth and New Turnaround Plan in Focus
Wendy's Q3 2025 net income was $44.3M as U.S. sales softened but international growth and cost discipline lifted adjusted EBITDA, amid a new turnaround plan.
| Q3 2025 | Reported |
|---|---|
| EPS | $0.23 |
| Revenue | $549.5M |
Figures as reported by the company to the SEC for the quarter ended September 28, 2025. Analyst estimates are not part of a filing, so no comparison to expectations is shown.
Key takeaways
- Wendy’s reported net income of $44.3 million and revenue of $549.5 million for the third quarter, a roughly 3% decline from a year earlier as fewer company-owned restaurant sales weighed on the top line.
- Sales trends were split by geography: same-restaurant sales at U.S. locations fell 4.7% from a year ago, while international systemwide sales grew 8.6% and helped offset the domestic softness.
- Despite the revenue decline, adjusted EBITDA (a measure of core operating profit before certain non-cash and one-time items) rose 2.1% to $138.0 million, which the company attributed to cost discipline and stronger performance at company-run restaurants.
- Interim CEO Ken Cook said comparable sales at company-operated restaurants outperformed the broader system by 4 points in the quarter, crediting a renewed focus on execution and the recent launch of new chicken tenders.
- This was the first quarterly report since Wendy’s launched “Project Fresh” in October 2025, a turnaround plan built around four areas: refreshing the brand, improving day-to-day restaurant operations, optimizing its store network (including planned U.S. restaurant closures), and adjusting how it allocates capital.
- Wendy’s reaffirmed its full-year 2025 guidance and raised its expected free cash flow for the year to a range of $195 million to $210 million, citing lower planned capital spending and tax-related benefits.
- Trailing-twelve-month figures show the squeeze on profitability over the past year: earnings per share over that period fell about 17% versus a year earlier, and revenue over the same trailing period was down close to 2%, even though the company still converts roughly 61 cents of every sales dollar into gross profit before operating costs.
- Coverage of the results noted that shares moved higher after the report, with some outlets pointing to the reported figures coming in above what had been expected, alongside the company’s confirmation that additional underperforming U.S. restaurants are slated to close as part of the network optimization effort.
Q3 2025 in context
| Metric | Sep 2025 | Sep 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $550M | $567M | -3.0% |
| Net income | $44M | $50M | -11.9% |
| Free cash flow | $104M | $123M | -15.5% |
| Diluted EPS | $0.23 | $0.25 | -8.0% |
| Gross margin | 62.8% | 65.5% | -2.7 pts |
| Operating margin | 16.8% | 16.7% | +0.0 pts |
| Net margin | 8.1% | 8.9% | -0.8 pts |
Figures for the quarter ended Sep 2025 and the quarter ended Sep 2024, as reported to the SEC.
How the stock took it
Wendy's Co closed at $8.83 on Nov 6, 2025, the last session before the report, and at $8.54 on Nov 10, 2025, the first session after it — -3.3% across the report.
Closes from the market's daily record. Each figure spans the report date — from the last session that closed before it to the first that closed after — because a company may report before the open or after the close.
Sources: company report · financial news coverage