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WEWEN

The Wendy's Company

$WEN·$1.4B·Restaurants·Consumer Cyclical
$7.55-0.5%YTD-9.1%1Y-33.1%
Mentions · last 7 days
2026-07-03: 1,423 posts2026-07-04: 257 posts2026-07-05: 340 posts2026-07-06: 660 posts2026-07-07: 404 posts2026-07-08: 542 posts2026-07-09: 564 posts4,243-13%
Price updated 2d ago·X counts updated 3d ago
WEWEN
$WENThe Wendy's Company
$7.55-0.53%4.2k posts-13%
AI analysisFundamentalsVoices on X
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AI verdict & sentimentAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Top X posts

Today's AI verdict on what's driving $WEN, plus how loud the X conversation is and which way it's leaning.

AI analysis

TickerTalks’ read on the fundamentals and what’s driving the move.

Broken storyWinding up for a moveAI verdict · as of 2026-07-12

Trading in a tight range and building pressure — a move looks likely soon, but the direction isn't clear yet.

Struggling QSR with a levered balance sheet, but a 10-year-high short interest and a meme-fueled bid coiling into earnings.

Wendy's is the third-place US burger chain — still profitable and generating real cash, but losing traffic to McDonald's and Chick-fil-A. The stock's near 52-week lows and what's driving the current bid isn't the business, it's a Reddit-fueled short-squeeze setup on top of a very low multiple.

  • Valuation looks cheap: ~7x trailing earnings with a 17% FCF yield, but that yield is inflated because debt-to-equity sits above 35 — this is a levered small-cap yield trap unless traffic actually re-accelerates.
  • Short interest is at a 10-year high going into Aug 14 earnings, and Reddit's 'Save Wendy's' gamma setup with heavy call flow is what explains the recent bid — the meme structure is the near-term catalyst, not the fundamentals.
  • Management churn is a real red flag: CFO Ken Cook was terminated without cause in late June, replaced by Steven Cirulis with a $4.4M grant, and the Chief Accounting Officer resigned June 8. Two C-suite exits in a month isn't confidence.
  • The comp story is holding but weak — Q1 revenue was +3.3% YoY, masking a -5.4% Q4, and the QSR category is broadly under pressure (Cramer explicitly told holders to take profits this week).

If Aug 14 delivers even in-line same-store sales against low expectations, shorts have to cover into a coil that already has retail momentum on it — that's the case for a real gap. A negative comp or guide cut turns the coil into a gap-down, and the meme structure that lifted the stock cuts the other way just as fast.

Agrees with X sentimentX is right about the mechanical setup — 10-year-high short interest plus meme flow plus a low multiple is the ingredient list for a squeeze into earnings. Where the crowd is thin is the business: management churn, category weakness, and the fact this is a levered small-cap yield trap if the comp doesn't turn — the squeeze can win a day, but the fundamentals decide the quarter.

What to watch: Aug 14 Q2 earnings — flat-to-positive Wendy's US same-store sales against low expectations is the number that sparks the squeeze given 10-year-high short interest. A negative comp or fresh guide cut turns the coil into a gap-down, especially with the CFO change still fresh.

On the calendar: 2026-08-14 — Q2 earnings

X sentiment

What the X crowd is saying right now — descriptive, summarised from the day’s posts.

Bullish sentiment73 posts analyzed · as of 2026-07-11

Wendy's chatter is dominated by a short-squeeze narrative with the equity's short interest at a 10-year high, Reddit-driven Save Wendy's campaign, and options gamma-squeeze setups, running in parallel with a Robinhood-chain meme-token revival of the Wen Lambo memecoin backed by the meme creator. Some frustrated bag-holders decry Peltz and management, but the squeeze framing and meme-driven flow dominate the sample.

Read the AI verdict + X sentiment for $WEN

  • One-line verdict on what's driving the move — fundamentals, momentum, both, or an event
  • Next dated catalyst when there is one (earnings, deal closing, activist clock)
  • X crowd read with bullish/bearish call + post volume
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What it does

Plain-English summary of the business — what they sell and how they make money.

Operates and franchises approximately 7,000 quick-service hamburger restaurants globally, competing with McDonald's and Burger King.

Industry overviewAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Where Restaurants sits in its cycle right now — and what that implies for $WEN.

Restaurants · Consumer Cyclical

No material change from last week — Food input cost inflation is the margin headwind across the sector; Cracker Barrel's turnaround narrative and CAVA's Mediterranean expansion are the two..

What this means for $WEN

Direct beneficiary — The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation, development, and franchising of a system of quick-service restaurants in the United States and internationally.

Industry benchmark

17-name peer basket
+9.5%YTD
-15.8%1Y

Fundamentals & catalyst

Profitability, valuation, and the next earnings event — at a glance, with rule-of-thumb signals.

Key ratios

P/E
7.4How much investors are paying per dollar of profit the company actually earned in the last 12 months. Lower means the stock looks cheaper relative to earnings.~15–25 is typical for the S&P 500; high-growth names trade 30+; hyper-growth or speculative can be 100+ or negative.
ROIC
5.6%What percentage return the business earns on every dollar of capital (equity + debt) deployed in operations. The cleanest measure of business quality.Above ~15% is high-quality; consistently above 25% suggests a real moat. Below the company's cost of capital is value-destroying.
Op margin
14.4%Operating profit (after sales, marketing, R&D, and overhead but before interest and taxes) as a percentage of revenue. The clearest view of how well the underlying business is run.Mature business above 20% is healthy; software businesses can run 30%+; commodity / retail businesses operate in single digits.
FCF yield
17.4%Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capex) divided by the company's market cap. The cash-on-cash return you'd get owning the whole business at today's price.Above ~5% is attractive; below ~2% means you're paying up for growth. Capital-light businesses (software) run higher than capital-heavy ones (utilities).
P/S
0.6Same idea as P/E but per dollar of revenue. Useful for companies that aren't profitable yet, where P/E is meaningless.Under ~2 is cheap; software / SaaS often runs 8–15; well above 20 implies the market is pricing in very high future growth.
ROE
151%Net income as a percentage of shareholders' equity. Similar to ROIC but counts only the equity side.Above 20% is strong, but can be inflated by leverage — a heavily indebted company can show high ROE with weak underlying ROIC.
Gross margin
26.3%Revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, as a percentage of revenue. The first read on whether the product is structurally profitable.Software / SaaS is typically 70%+; consumer goods 30–50%; commodity / hardware businesses can be under 20%.
D/E
35.6Total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how much the business runs on borrowed money versus owner capital.Under 1 is conservative; 1–2 is typical for mature businesses; over 2 is leveraged and more sensitive to interest rates.

Past earnings

QuarterReportedActualEstimateSurprise
Q1 2026May 8, 2026$0.12$0.10+20.0%
Q4 2025Feb 13, 2026$0.16$0.14+14.3%
Q3 2025Nov 7, 2025$0.24$0.20+23.0%
Q2 2025Aug 8, 2025$0.29$0.25+16.0%
Next earningsFri, Aug 14·consensus EPS $0.16

Quarterly trend

QuarterRevenueYoYGrossOpEPSFCF
Q1 FY26$540.6M+3.3%24.7%11.2%$0.24$47.5M
Q4 FY25$543.0M-5.5%24.2%11.9%$0.14$31.4M
Q3 FY25$549.5M-3.0%26.5%15.9%$0.23$104.3M
Q2 FY25$560.9M-1.7%29.7%18.6%$0.29$39.2M

Forward consensus

5-year forecast · up to 15 analysts
FYRevenueRangeEPSRangeAnalysts
FY26$2.2B$2.2B – $2.3B$0.57$0.55 – $0.6115
FY27$2.2B$2.1B – $2.4B$0.64$0.53 – $0.8315
FY28$2.3B$2.2B – $2.3B$0.71$0.55 – $0.809
FY29$2.6B$2.5B – $2.7B$1.03$1.01 – $1.108
FY30$2.5B$2.4B – $2.6B$1.01$0.98 – $1.074

Setup & momentum

Volume, range, and moving-average position — the technical setup driving short-term moves.

Right now

Vol vs 30dToday's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.0.3×Today's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.
52w rangeWhere the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.25%Where the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.
vs 50d MALatest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.+2.9%Latest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.
vs 200d MALatest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.-4.3%Latest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.

Float & profile

FloatMid float · 156.9M shFree-float shares — the slice of issued stock actually available to trade. Lower buckets squeeze harder on a catalyst.Traded today4.8% of floatToday's volume as a percent of the free float. Above 5% on a single day is unusually high turnover for the available share count.β0.375-year weekly beta vs the S&P 500. Above 1.5 means the stock typically moves more than the index; below 0.8 moves less.

Insider activity

Recent open-market buys and sells by officers and directors — flagged when multiple insiders cluster.

Recent transactions

No open-market buys or sells in the last 180 days.

+ 42 other (38 awards · 3 inkinds · 1 exempt) in window

See when $WEN insiders are putting their own money in

  • Real-time open-market buys and sells from Form 4 filings
  • Cluster-buy detection when multiple insiders pile in at once
  • 30 / 60 / 180-day windows so you can spot building conviction
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SEC filings

Material 8-K, 13D, S-3, and 424B5 events from the last 180 days — the filings that actually move the price.

Recent material filings

3New insider — initial holdingsJun 253
AI summary

Steven Cirulis was appointed CFO and Chief Strategy Officer at The Wendy's Company effective June 23, 2026, and reports no securities beneficially owned. Routine initial Section 16 disclosure for the new CFO at this global quick-service restaurant chain.

8-KOfficer or director changeJun 238-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change · Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD
AI summary

The Wendy's Company appointed Steven W. Cirulis as CFO and Chief Strategy Officer effective June 23, 2026, replacing Ken Cook who was terminated without cause (with his last day July 31, 2026); Cook will receive standard termination-without-cause severance benefits. Cirulis combines the CFO and strategy officer roles, which is unusual; Cook's termination without cause is the key event to note for governance watchers.

3New insider — initial holdingsJun 113
AI summary

Aaron M. Kale, Chief Accounting Officer of The Wendy's Company, filed a Form 3 initial ownership statement as of June 8, 2026. He directly owns 10,568 shares of common stock and holds options on 89,061 shares at exercise prices ranging from $10.11 to $23.70 (various expiration dates through 2035) plus 11,001 restricted stock units. This is a routine insider initial-ownership disclosure required upon appointment to an officer role; no new securities were issued.

8-KOfficer or director changeJun 98-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change
AI summary

The Wendy's Company disclosed that Chief Accounting Officer Suzanne M. Thuerk resigned effective June 8, 2026 to pursue an opportunity outside the restaurant industry, and that Aaron M. Kale (VP Tax, age 49, Wendy's employee since 2012) was appointed as the new Chief Accounting Officer effective the same date. Ms. Thuerk will remain in a non-executive capacity through July 10, 2026 to assist with transition. Routine CAO succession — internal promotion, no operational disruption expected.

3New insider — initial holdingsMay 263
AI summary

Robert D. Wright filed Form 3 as a new insider of The Wendy's Company (WEN), with event date May 22, 2026, reporting no securities beneficially owned. A Power of Attorney was included as an exhibit. This is a routine initial beneficial ownership statement for a new officer or director at Wendy's.

8-KOfficer or director changeMay 228-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change · Item 5.07: Shareholder vote
AI summary

The Wendy's Company (WEN) filed an 8-K on May 20, 2026 reporting a personnel change (Item 5.02) and annual shareholder meeting vote results (Item 5.07). Wendy's is a Dublin, Ohio-based quick-service restaurant chain listed on Nasdaq. The excerpt does not identify the specific executive; annual meeting results are routine administrative disclosures.

8-KOfficer or director changeMay 208-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change · Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD
AI summary

The Wendy's Company (WEN) filed an 8-K on May 17, 2026 reporting a personnel change (Item 5.02) and a Regulation FD disclosure (Item 7.01). This is separate from the May 20 annual meeting filing. The concurrent Reg FD likely includes an investor presentation accompanying the leadership change; for a restaurant chain, CEO or CFO-level changes are material signals about strategic direction.

8-KPress release / Reg FDFeb 188-K — Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD
+ 15 other (5 13Gs · 2 earnings 8-Ks · 2 proxys · 1 S-8) in window

Recent news

Latest headlines from major outlets, sourced and timestamped — context for whatever just moved.

Wendy's Vs. McDonald's: Buy Wendy's to Ride the ‘Project Fresh' Short-Squeeze Momentum and Avoid McDonald's247wallst.com·1d agoWhy Investors Are Watching These 3 Meme Stocks Now: Wendy's, Krispy Kreme, and Tootsie Roll247wallst.com·2d agoThe Wendy's Company to Report Second Quarter 2026 Results on August 7prnewswire.com·3d agoJim Cramer: Fast Food Is 'Challenged,' But This Industrial Stock Is 'A Good Spec'benzinga.com·3d agoJim Cramer Says Buy Casey's General Stores, But 'Take Profits In Wendy's'benzinga.com·4d ago

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