What's Going On With Restaurant Chain Wingstop Shares Today?

Wingstop Inc WING shares are trading higher after the company reported first-quarter FY24 sales growth of 34.1% year-on-year to $145.789 million, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $135.598 million.

System-wide sales increased 36.8% Y/Y to $1.1 billion, Domestic same-store sales increased 21.6% versus last year, and Digital sales jumped to 68.3% of system-wide sales. Domestic restaurant AUVs increased to $1.9 million.

Revenue from royalty, franchise fees, and others rose 39.2% Y/Y, Advertising fee revenue increased 33.9%, and company-owned restaurant sales grew 23.7%.

Total costs and expenses expanded 24.1% Y/Y to $103.1 million. The operating margin was 29.3%, and the operating income for the quarter gained 66.5% to $42.7 million.

Adjusted EBITDA of $50.3 million increased 45.3% Y/Y. Adjusted EPS of $0.98 beat the consensus estimate of $0.76. 

Wingstop held $119.7 million in cash and equivalents as of March 30. There were 2,279 Wingstop restaurants system-wide, including 1,974 restaurants in the U.S.

The company’s board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, which will be paid on June 7 to stockholders of record as of May 17.

“Our domestic AUV exceeded $1.9 million, further strengthening best-in-class returns for our brand partners and is strengthening our development pipeline, which gives us confidence in our ability to scale Wingstop into a Top 10 Global Restaurant Brand,” said President and CEO Michael Skipworth.

Outlook: Wingstop raised FY24 domestic same-store sales growth outlook to low double digit from the previous mid-single digit. 

The company now expects 275-295 global net new units in FY24. Wingstop reiterated guidance for depreciation and amortization of $18 million-$19 million for 2024. 

Price Action: WING shares are trading lower by 4.07% at $369.15 at the last check Wednesday.

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