Wingstop Unveils Bold Expansion Plans, Eyes Top Global Brand Status

Wingstop Inc. WING shares soared over 27% on Wednesday after the fast-casual restaurant chain reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and sales, while also boosting its full-year global unit growth forecast.

The company’s adjusted earnings per share of $1 beat analyst estimates of 86 cents, and quarterly sales of $174.33 million surpassed the Street’s $172.77 million view, driven by franchise development and a rise in digital sales, which now account for 72.2% of total system-wide sales.

Royalty revenue, franchise fees and other increased $8.7 million, of which $9.8 million was due to net new franchise development, partially offset by a decrease of $1.4 million due to a 1.9% decline in domestic same-store sales.

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Quarterly adjusted EBITDA jumped to $59.21 million, higher than $51.78 million a year ago. In the second quarter, Wingstop reported a 13.9% increase in system-wide sales, reaching $1.3 billion compared to the same period in 2024.

Digital sales accounted for 72.2% of total system-wide sales, reflecting continued growth in the company’s digital ordering channels.

Average unit volume (AUV) for domestic restaurants rose to $2.1 million. However, domestic same-store sales declined by 1.9% year over year.

“Our momentum in development continued in the second quarter, opening 129 net new units, delivering 19.8% unit growth, which marked our fourth consecutive quarter of opening more than 100 net new units,” said Michael Skipworth, President and CEO. 

“We continue to open new restaurants at a record pace, demonstrating our brand partners’ commitment to growing the Wingstop brand, furthering us towards our vision of becoming a Top 10 Global Restaurant Brand,” he added.

As of June 28, there were 2,818 Wingstop restaurants system-wide. This included 2,411 restaurants in the United States, of which 2,357 were franchised restaurants and 54 were company-owned, and 407 franchised restaurants were in international markets, including U.S. territories.

The company exited the quarter with cash and equivalents worth $227.94 million.

Dividend

On July 29, the company approved an increase in the quarterly dividend payable to Wingstop stockholders from 27 cents to 30 cents per share of common stock, resulting in a total dividend of approximately $8.4 million. This dividend will be paid on September 5.

Outlook

Wingstop has updated its 2025 outlook, raising its global unit growth forecast to 17%-18% from the previous 16%-17% range and lowering its expected net interest expense to approximately $39 million, down from $40 million.

The company also reaffirmed its projection of about 1% growth in domestic same-store sales for the year.

Price Action: WING shares are trading higher by 27.4% to $367.67 at last check Wednesday.

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