Wendy's (WEN) Q1 Earnings Report Preview: What To Look For

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Wendy's (WEN) Q1 Earnings Report Preview: What To Look For

Fast-food chain Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) will be announcing earnings results tomorrow before market hours. Here's what to look for.

Wendy's missed analysts' revenue expectations by 1.1% last quarter, reporting revenues of $540.7 million, flat year on year. It was a slower quarter for the company, with underwhelming earnings guidance for the full year and a miss of analysts' earnings estimates.

Is Wendy's a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it's free.

This quarter, analysts are expecting Wendy's revenue to grow 2.2% year on year to $540.7 million, slowing from the 8.2% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $0.21 per share.

Wendy's Total Revenue
Wendy's Total Revenue

The majority of analysts covering the company have reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. Wendy's has missed Wall Street's revenue estimates six times over the last two years.

Looking at Wendy's peers in the traditional fast food segment, some have already reported their Q1 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. McDonald's delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 4.6%, meeting analysts' expectations, and Restaurant Brands reported revenues up 9.4%, topping estimates by 2.2%.

Read our full analysis of McDonald's results here and Restaurant Brands's results here.

Growth stocks have been quite volatile since the start of 2024, and while some of the traditional fast food stocks have fared somewhat better, they have not been spared, with share prices down 3.6% on average over the last month. Wendy's is up 8% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $21 (compared to the current share price of $19.99).

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