QualityDipStocks / Consumer Discretionary · Restaurants
Wendy's Company WEN
Outside our quality screen, so we don’t track its dips. It’s 20% below its 52-week high.
Outside our quality screen. No fair value estimate for now: the model’s result is too extreme to stand behind.
Worth knowing
- FCF yield 19%, top 2% of the 1322 we measure
- Dividend yield 7.7%, top 3% of the 2092 we measure
From the data on this page, as of the last close. How we pick these
- Fair value est.
- n/a
- Market Value
- $7.46price −3%
- Off 52-wk high
- −20%
- Risk vs market
- Lowbeta 0.30
52-week range 38% of the way from its 52-week low to its high
Price $7.26Market Value $7.46
4 bullish · 5 bearish See why
Repriced or dip?
Dip: business intact
The price is 20% below its 52-week high (Aug 25), but the business held up: net cash (cash minus debt) 0.0% of market cap since the high, shares outstanding unchanged, operating margin 0.0 pts.
Some numbers held up (net cash (cash minus debt) 0.0% of market cap since the high, shares outstanding unchanged, operating margin 0.0 pts), others slipped. The price is 20% below its 52-week high.
The price is 20% below its 52-week high, and the business changed too.
Within 10% of its 52-week high, so there is no dip to judge yet.
The evidence 9 numbers, high vs now
- Revenue, last 12 months$2.2B → $2.2B (0.0%)about the same
- Earnings per share, 12 months$0.66 → $0.66 (0.0%)about the same
- Free cash flow, 12 months$264M → $264M (0.0%)held up
- Operating margin13.6% → 13.6% (0.0 pts)held up
- Shares outstanding0.0% (unchanged)held up
- Net cash (cash minus debt)0.0% of market cap since the highheld up
- Stock vs its sector (Consumer Discretionary)stock −20%, sector median −1% since Aug 25changed
- Price fall vs business numbersprice −20%, revenue/EPS/FCF median 0% (shown, not scored)
- Valuation multipleP/FCF 6.6× at the high → 5.3× now (shown, not scored)
No new report since the high (Aug 25, 2026): the business numbers are the same as then, so this read is capped at 65. Each measure is scored from −1 (business changed) to +1 (business intact) and weighted: revenue, earnings per share, free cash flow, operating margin, revenue growth rate, share count, net cash and the move vs its sector. 60 or more reads as a dip, 40 or less as a repricing. Analyst estimates are not in our data, so they are not used. How to read it
Data-based read, not advice.
Priced in
How much growth the market assumed at the 52-week high, the low and today (a reverse DCF).
At the high ($9.12, Aug 25) the price assumed about −12%/yr free-cash-flow growth; at the low ($6.10, Oct 5) about −19%; today about −16%. The last 3 years delivered 12%/yr (free cash flow).
Dashed line: what the last 3 years delivered, 12%/yr (free cash flow)
| High | Low | Now | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.12Aug 25 | $6.10Oct 5 | $7.26 |
| Implied growth | −12% | −19% | −16% |
| P/E | 13.8× | 9.3× | 11.0× |
| P/FCF | 6.6× | 4.4× | 5.3× |
| EV/Sales | 1.9× | 1.6× | 1.7× |
What this means: the higher the implied growth, the more the price already counts on. If today's number sits well below what the business has delivered, the market expects less than its track record.
How it’s computed
Reverse DCF: the same 10-year free-cash-flow model as our fair value estimate (9.5% discount rate, growth for years 1–5 fading to 3% by year 10, 3% after), solved for the growth that makes it equal the market value at each price. For the high and the low we use only the filings that were public on that day, so nothing from a later report leaks back. Market value = that close × diluted shares. P/E = market value / 12-month net income; Price / FCF = market value / 12-month free cash flow; EV / Sales = (market value + debt − cash) / 12-month revenue. Hidden when the share count moved over 20% (split, merger), free cash flow is negative, or the company reports in another currency.
Valuation
What we estimate it's worth, and how it ranks on value vs every stock we cover.
Fair value estimate
Estimate unreliable for WEN: the model gives 202% above the price, more than we can stand behind (usually peak-cycle cash flow, heavy debt, or cash flows that include customer or loan balances). We’d rather show nothing than a made-up number.
What the price implies To be worth today’s price, WEN’s free cash flow would need to shrink about 16% a year for five years; our estimate uses 3%.
Risk vs market
How risk vs market is measured
One year of daily returns (Oct 31 to Nov 2, 252 sessions). Beta = how much WEN moved for each 1% move in the S&P 500 (SPY); 1.0 moves with the market. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Past behavior, not a forecast.
Moves much less than the market, but its own price swings are 4.9× the S&P 500’s (it moves on its own news).
- Beta vs S&P 500
- 0.30
- Volatility
- 63% vs 13% SPY
- Correlation SPY
- 0.06
- Correlation QQQ
- −0.02
How it ranks
Where WEN stands vs every one of the 2,467 stocks we cover that has the number. Longer bar = better.
Top quarter on 2 of 5 measures
- Free cash flow yield19% · free cash flow vs market capTop 3%of 1,690
- Dividends + buybacks yield8.8% · cash paid out or used to retire shares, vs market capTop 9%of 2,227
- Revenue growth, last 12 months−1% · vs the 12 months beforeLowest 12%of 2,184
- Operating margin14% · of sales kept as operating profitTop 41%of 1,549
- Return on invested capital8.4% · profit per dollar of capitalLowest 45%of 1,001
From SEC filings and our fair value estimate model. A ranking, not advice.
Valuation details
MV $7.46 · FCF value $22.04
Fundamentals
The business itself: sales, profits, cash and debt, from SEC filings.
Bull vs bear
Rule-based from the data on this page, strongest first. Not advice.
Top bullish points 4 of 5
ValuationFree-cash-flow yield of 19.0% (price / FCF 5.3×): $264M of free cash in the last 12 months.
ValuationP/E of 11.0× vs a 20.1× median for the 411 Consumer Discretionary companies we cover.
Cash returnsDividend yield of 7.7% ($107M paid over 12 months, 85% of earnings).
ValuationEV/EBITDA of 8.3×: modest for what the business earns before interest, tax and depreciation.
Top bearish points 5 of 5
Balance sheetNet debt of $2.4B, 173% of the market cap (Jun 28, 2026).
Balance sheetOperating income covers interest only 2.3× over the last 12 months.
GrowthSales grew only 1.3% a year from FY2023 to FY2025.
GrowthDiluted EPS fell 11% to $0.85 in FY2025.
QualityDoesn’t pass our quality screen: net debt 8.2× EBITDA (limit 3×).
All fundamentals
P/E 11.0 · FCF yield 19.0% · ROE 108%
Valuation
- P/E
- 11.0×Consumer Discretionary median 20.1×
- Price / FCF
- 5.3×
- FCF yield
- 19.0%
- EV / EBITDA
- 8.3×
- Price / sales
- 0.63×
- Price / book
- 11.52×
- Market cap
- $1.4Bprice × diluted shares
- Enterprise value
- $3.8B
Growth
- Revenue, 12 months
- $2.2B
- Sales growth, 12 months
- −1.0%vs the 12 months before
- Sales growth, 3 yrs
- +1.3%/yrfrom FY2023
- Diluted EPS, 12 months
- $0.66
- EPS growth, last FY
- −10.5%
- Net income, 12 months
- $126M
- Net income growth
- −34%12 months vs before
Profitability
- Gross margin
- 63.0%
- Operating margin
- 13.6%
- Net margin
- 5.7%
- FCF margin
- 12.0%
- Return on equity
- 108%
- Return on invested capital
- 8%
Balance sheet
- Cash & short-term inv.
- $341M
- Total debt
- $2.7B
- Net cash
- −$2.4B
- Debt / equity
- n/an/m: equity near zero
- Interest coverage
- 2.3×operating income / interest
Cash flow & returns
- Free cash flow, 12 months
- $264M
- FCF growth, 12 months
- +3%
- Dividend yield
- 7.68%$107M paid
- Payout ratio
- 85%
- Buybacks, 12 months
- $16M1.2% of market cap
- Share count, 1 year
- −0.8%diluted shares vs a year ago
- Stock-based comp
- $12M
Trailing 12 months to Jun 28, 2026; balance sheet at Jun 28, 2026. From Wendy's Company’s SEC filings. Sparklines show up to six fiscal years. n/a means we don’t hold that number, with the reason. How each is computed.
The business
FCF $0.2B · Sales +2%
- Free cash flow, 12 months$0.2B
- Free-cash-flow yield19.0%
- Free-cash-flow margin8%
- Gross margin33%
- Operating margin14%
- Return on invested capital6%
- Return on equity108%
- Sales growth (latest quarter vs year-ago quarter)+2%
- Net debt / EBITDA8.2×
Chart & levels
Where the price is vs its key levels and trends.
Key levels
Every level vs today’s $7.26
- 52-wk lowlowest close, 1 year$6.10−16.0%
- PriceMon Nov 2 close$7.26you are here
- Market Valueavg paid since Aug 7$7.46+2.8%
- 52-wk highhighest close, 1 year$9.12+25.6%
Momentum & 52-week range
RSI 62 · 5 days +17.3%
Signals
Reversal signal setups, the public ledger and the next earnings date.
Setup & signals
No setup armed
No setup armed, so there’s no trigger or stop to track yet. Reversal signal rules only run on companies that pass our quality screen.
Next report
Nov 5
- DateThu Nov 5, before the open
- Consensus EPS$0.10
- Year-ago EPS$0.24
- QuarterSep/2026
From Nasdaq’s earnings calendar. A report resets Market Value.
WEN is outside our quality screen
One text when a published rule fires on one of the 332 quality companies we track: the ticker, the price, the stop and a link to the numbers. Nothing else.
Voices & buzz
Who is talking about it, and how it compares with peers.
Who’s talking about it
Notable investors, executives, analysts and public figures on Wendy's Company in the last 48 hours. Headlines as published, each linked. Their words, not ours.
No notable mentions in the last 48 hours. Checked Nov 3, 5:14 PM ET.
Compare with peers
Closest in size in Restaurants
Information only, not investment advice. Fair value estimates and talking points are rule-based model output from public data and can be wrong; stop levels are reference points, not orders. How every number is computed.