The Wendy’s Company reported net income of $26.5m for the fourth quarter of 2025, down nearly 44.2% from $47.49m a year earlier.
The company said the decline in quarterly net income was mainly due to a decrease in operating profit and other incomes.
For the full year, net income fell 15.1% to $165.1m.
Quarterly revenue for the period that ended 28 December 2025 declined to $543m from $574.3m reported in the prior-year quarter.
Wendy’s said this reduction was primarily driven by reductions in advertising funds revenue, franchise royalty revenue and franchise fees.
Full-year revenue stood at $2.17bn, compared with $2.24bn in the previous year.
Global systemwide sales decreased 8.3% to $3.4bn in Q4 2025 and fell 3.5% to $14bn for the full year, due to lower US same-restaurant sales. The impact was partially offset by contributions from new restaurant openings.
However, international systemwide sales rose 6.2% in the fourth quarter and 8.1% for the full year.
The fast-food chain’s operating profit for the fourth quarter was $64m, down from $96m a year earlier. Wendy’s said this decline was mainly driven by lower net franchise fees, reduced franchise royalty revenue and a decrease in the margin at US company-operated restaurants.
Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $113.3m, and $522.4m for the full year. The figures dropped 17.6% and 3.9% year-on-year, respectively.
Reported diluted earnings per share were $0.14 for the fourth quarter and $0.85 for the full year.
In Q4 2025, Wendy’s added 34 net new restaurants. This brought total net additions for the year to 157, representing a 2.2% increase in its overall restaurant count.
The company said that it returned $329.6m to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases for the full year, noting this was an increase of over $48m from the prior year.
The Wendy’s Company interim CEO Ken Cook said: “Our fourth quarter performance was in line with our expectations, reflecting the challenges we anticipated.
“We are making progress against our ‘Project Fresh’ turnaround plan in the US and continue to deliver strong growth internationally.”
In 2026, the fast-food chain expects global systemwide sales growth to be flat and adjusted earnings per share to range from $0.56 to $0.60.
“Wendy’s Q4 2025 profit nearly halves as lower US sales hit revenues” was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service, a GlobalData owned brand.
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