WING

Interested in Restaurant Brands International Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Restaurant Brands International delivered solid Q2 growth: Systemwide comparable sales rose 3.8%, adjusted EPS increased 12.9% to $1.07, and organic adjusted operating income grew 6.7%. Burger King U.S. led the performance with 8.5% same-store sales growth. International operations provided additional momentum, with 5.5% comparable-sales growth and 5.1% net restaurant growth. Burger King China again posted double-digit comparable-sales growth, supporting the company’s goal of reaching 5% annual net restaurant growth by 2028. Results were mixed across other major brands: Tim Hortons Canada was nearly flat at 0.1% comparable-sales growth, while Popeyes U.S. same-store sales fell 5.2%. Management is relying on new promotions, operational improvements and value offerings to restore Popeyes to positive comparable sales in the second half of 2026. Is Wingstop's Growth Story Losing Steam? Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) reported second-quarter results that showed continued sales and earnings growth, led by Burger King U.S. and its international operations, while Tim Hortons Canada posted nearly flat comparable sales and Popeyes remained under pressure. Chief Executive Officer Josh Kobza said the company generated 3.8% systemwide comparable-sales growth and 2.9% net restaurant growth in the quarter ended June 30. Those results drove 6.4% systemwide sales growth, 6.7% organic adjusted operating income growth and 12.9% adjusted earnings-per-share growth. → Sandisk Just Delivered a Blowout Quarter—Here's Why the Stock Is Falling MarketBeat Week in Review – 06/29 - 07/03 Adjusted EPS rose to $1.07 from $0.94 a year earlier. Kobza said the company has exceeded its long-term 3% same-store sales growth algorithm for three consecutive quarters and returned $435 million of capital to shareholders during the quarter. Burger King was the company’s strongest major domestic contributor in the quarter. The brand posted 8.6% comparable-sales growth and 8.2% systemwide sales growth. U.S. same-store sales increased 8.5%, outperforming the burger quick-service restaurant industry by more than nine percentage points, according to Kobza. → 4 Oil and Gas ETF Plays as Prices Stay Sky-High Burger King’s Turnaround Is Putting Restaurant Brands Back in Focus The performance followed the rollout of Burger King’s Whopper and brand-elevation campaigns, part of the company’s multiyear “Reclaim the Flame” turnaround strategy. Kobza said the company has expanded its focus to service through its “Your Way Champion” restaurant leadership role and a Whopper Guarantee that promises a replacement Whopper and another sandwich if a guest’s order does not meet standards. The company said average unit volumes for its Whopper platform have grown more than 20% since the elevation campaign began. Burger King also reported that Kids Meal average unit volumes exceeded 28 per day in the second quarter, up nearly 50% from 2022, following a Mandalorian-themed promotion. → No Hangover: Revisiting Microsoft One Week After Earnings Executive Chairman J. Patrick Doyle said the brand’s gains reflect cumulative work on operations, food, marketing, restaurant image and franchisee quality rather than a single promotion. He said the company still sees opportunities to modernize additional restaurants, improve operations and further elevate menu offerings. On refranchising, Chief Financial Officer Sami Siddiqui said Restaurant Brands began selling acquired Carrols restaurants to franchisees earlier than originally expected. While second-quarter activity was slower than anticipated, he said the pipeline of prospective buyers has more than doubled since the company’s investor day. Restaurant Brands expects to refranchise a few hundred restaurants in 2026 and the remainder in 2027, with the goal of winding down the Restaurant Holdings segment by the end of 2027. Restaurant Brands’ international business delivered 5.5% comparable-sales growth and 5.1% net restaurant growth, producing 10.7% systemwide sales growth. Kobza cited strength in Burger King markets including Germany, Spain, Brazil, China, South Korea and Japan. He said Burger King China recorded another quarter of double-digit comparable-sales growth under operator CPE, alongside sequential improvement in unit economics. The company views China as an important part of its path toward 5% net restaurant growth by 2028. The company also highlighted international Popeyes results, noting that Brazil’s Popeyes comparable sales were up more than 20% year to date, following roughly 20% growth in 2025. Firehouse Subs, meanwhile, recently launched in Australia. Siddiqui said the company’s top 10 Burger King international growth markets have average new-unit paybacks of between four and five years, with returns improving. He said that excluding China, Burger King’s international average restaurant sales are similar to those in the U.S., while paybacks in the top international growth markets are better than U.S. paybacks. Tim Hortons Canada posted comparable-sales growth of 0.1%, though Kobza said performance improved as the quarter progressed. He attributed the softer quarter in part to a calendar that did not match the prior year’s major platform launches and marketing that did not perform as expected. The company plans to support the second half with a Harry Potter-themed “Back to Hogwarts” campaign, breakfast innovation, a holiday partnership and expanded beverage offerings. Tim Hortons recently launched matcha nationally and is rolling out fountain equipment to support cold beverages such as Soda Swirls. It also plans a loyalty partnership with Canadian Tire that will allow customers to link Triangle Rewards and Tims Rewards accounts. Despite the subdued comparable-sales performance, Restaurant Brands plans approximately 80 gross Tim Hortons openings in Canada this year, compared with more than 50 last year. Kobza said the new drive-thru restaurants generally offer paybacks of less than three years. Popeyes U.S. systemwide sales declined 3.3%, as 0.3% net restaurant growth was more than offset by a 5.2% same-store sales decline. Kobza said the company is focused on improving restaurant operations and service, emphasizing core products and maintaining clear value offerings. Popeyes completed the systemwide rollout of an improved tender specification and introduced value platforms including $5 Faves, a $6 Big Box and a $20 Family Meal. Kobza said product satisfaction, guest complaints and order errors have moved in the right direction, and the company remains confident Popeyes can return to positive comparable sales in the second half of 2026. Restaurant Brands generated $501 million in free cash flow during the second quarter, including $62 million of capital expenditures and cash inducements. It repurchased $137 million of stock and said it remains on track to repurchase about $500 million of shares for the full year. The company ended the quarter with about $2.3 billion in liquidity, including $1.1 billion of cash, and net leverage of 4.1 times. Siddiqui noted that S&P upgraded the company to BB+ in May. Restaurant Brands continues to target corporate investment-grade leverage by 2028, or a low- to mid-three-times net leverage ratio. Full-year segment G&A, excluding Restaurant Holdings: $600 million to $620 million. Net adjusted interest expense: $500 million to $520 million. Capital expenditures and cash inducements: about $400 million. Adjusted effective tax rate: 18% to 19%. Foreign exchange headwind expected in the second half: about $10 million to adjusted operating income and $0.02 to $0.03 to adjusted EPS. Siddiqui said the company remains on track to deliver 8% organic adjusted operating income growth in 2026. Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE: QSR) is a global quick-service restaurant company formed through the combination of established brands. The company's principal holdings include Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, each of which operates under its own brand identity and menu. Restaurant Brands International's business is centered on developing and expanding these franchised restaurant systems, supporting franchisees with brand management, supply chain coordination, and marketing programs. RBI's restaurants offer a range of quick-service food and beverage products: Burger King is known for its flame-grilled hamburgers and sandwiches, Tim Hortons for coffee, baked goods and breakfast items, and Popeyes for Louisiana-style fried chicken and seafood. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Restaurant Brands International Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, July 29, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET President and Chief Executive Officer - Michael J. Skipworth Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - Alex Kaleida Senior Director of Investor Relations - Sarah Niehaus Operator: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Wingstop-- excuse me, Wingstop Inc.'s Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by 0. Please note that this conference is being recorded today. Wednesday, July 29, 2026. On the call today are Michael J. Skipworth, President and Chief Executive Officer; Alex Kaleida, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Sarah Niehaus, Senior Director of Investor Relations. I would now like to turn the conference over to Sarah. Please go ahead. Thank you. Sarah Niehaus: Thank you, and welcome to the fiscal second quarter 2026 earnings conference call for Wingstop. Our results were published earlier this morning, and are available on our investor relations website at ir.wingstop.com. Our discussion today includes forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from what we currently expect. Our SEC filings describe various risks that could affect our future operating results and financial condition. We use certain non-GAAP financial measures that we believe can be useful in evaluating our performance. Presentation of such information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations to comparable GAAP measures are contained in our earnings release. Lastly, for the Q&A session, we ask that each of you please keep to one question and a follow-up. To allow as many participants as possible to ask a question. With that, I would like to turn the call over to Michael. Michael J. Skipworth: Thank you, Sarah. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I would like to start the call by taking a moment to recognize our brand partners, restaurant teams and global support center team members. I have previously described 2026 as a transformational year for Wingstop. From operationalizing Wingstop's Smart Kitchen, a new kitchen operating platform that completely changed our back-of-house operations to the national launch of Club Wingstop, our first loyalty program. The commitment from our brand partners and team members has been impressive. All of this while operating in this evolving consumer environment. This is a direct reflection of the resilience and incredible commitment of team members across the system and demonstrates the shared excitement around the future for Wingstop. While we have continued to strengthen the business for the long-term, our financial performance this quarter fell short of our expectations. With second quarter same-store sales declining 7.5%. The pressure on our core guests remained more pronounced than we anticipated. At the same time, the quarter gave us greater clarity about what is driving our results. It is increasingly clear that the challenge we are facing today is not structural. And not a reflection of our brand relevance or product quality. That being said, we have an opportunity to showcase value more overtly to help preserve Wingstop occasions with our core guests. As price-pointed messaging broadly across the industry has continued to intensify. Independent brand tracking continues to rank Wingstop among the strongest restaurant brands for quality, Brand awareness is growing and over the past year, aided brand awareness has increased more than 5 percentage points. Perhaps one of the strongest proof points of brand health and relevance came during the World Cup. On key match days, we saw same-store sales swing into double-digit growth as guests came together to celebrate with family and friends. We saw similar response during the NBA Finals in markets with hometown teams competing. Those moments are a great reminder of what we have known as a brand for a long time. When our guests have special moments and occasions to celebrate together, Wingstop's flavor and quality is one of their top choices. Many of those guests who engage with Wingstop on those days are the very same consumers experiencing the greatest financial pressure today. Whether it was key World Cup matches or the NBA Finals, our core guests ordered for groups driving double-digit increases in average ticket and frequently choosing one of our bundled offerings. To us, that is a really important insight. When our guests choose to treat themselves and come together for a group occasion, the Wingstop brand was top of mind. Consumers are still willing to spend on meaningful occasions. They simply want confidence they are receiving compelling value for the group. Our opportunity, particularly in this current environment, is to make that per person value even more obvious so that our guests consider Wingstop for more occasions while we continue to expand the brand to new consumers. We find our business more exposed than other restaurant concepts to consumers who have been disproportionately impacted by persistent inflation and ongoing economic uncertainty. To better appreciate our results, let me share a little bit about the makeup of our restaurant footprint. Today, more than 55% of our domestic restaurants are located in urban trade areas where households are under more financial stress than higher-income households. Digital guest visits in those trade areas and correspondingly frequency declined by approximately 9% while visits in higher-income trade areas actually grew in the second quarter. That divergence in trend reinforces our belief that the pressure we are seeing today in our core guests is macro-driven. Not any change in the underlying strength of the Wingstop brand. While brand awareness remains an opportunity for us, we have made great progress over the last five years and our footprint has played a key role But as awareness has continued to grow, our focus is naturally evolving. Over the past several years, we focused on introducing more consumers to the Wingstop brand. Today, our opportunity is increasingly about converting that awareness into consideration. Driving more occasions and increased frequency. That means giving guests more reasons to choose Wingstop through differentiated flavor innovation, compelling value and increasingly personalized engagement. What you will see from us in the second half of the year is our creative and message will evolve to this strategy. When we think about value, it is one simple question. Was the experience worth what I paid? Price is certainly an input into that equation, but it is not the only one. Our quality, flavor, abundance, and experience all contribute to the value guests receive. That said, in this current environment, price is clearly playing a greater role in consumers' perception of value. Guests can still feed a group at Wingstop for approximately $8 per person just as they could several years ago. What has changed is the environment our guests are operating in. And that means we have to communicate value in ways that resonate today. Our confidence in the strategies we have put in place has not changed. And as we move into the balance of 2026, we are executing against our strategies with a sharper focus on protecting our core guests while continuing to strengthen the business for the long-term. During the second quarter, we deployed a variety of offers to better understand how guests respond to different expressions of value. Our $1 wing promotion reinforced the demand compelling value can generate. The 30-for-30 bundle validated that the right offer can do more than drive transactions. It can grow the overall occasion increasing average first-party ticket by nearly 17%. Flavors Under $10 demonstrated that we can better highlight the accessible price points already available on our menu creating more entry points into the Wingstop brand while maintaining the quality flavor and experience our guests expect. That approach resonated with guests. The overall satisfaction scores improved in 89% of the market where the promotion ran. Importantly, we are executing our value strategy while preserving the strong unit economics that have always differentiated the Wingstop model. Competing more effectively for today's consumer requires us to win more occasions and strengthen the emotional connection with our guests over time. Perhaps the most significant milestone in advancing that strategy this quarter and one we have been working towards for several years was the national launch of Club Wingstop. Our first loyalty program. From the beginning, our vision was not simply to launch another loyalty program. It was to build a more personalized relationship with our guests that allows us to engage with them in more meaningful ways. Such as through exclusive access to Wingstop or in special experiences and events. The early response has exceeded our expectations. In just a matter of weeks, Club Wingstop enrollments are tracking ahead of expectations by 22%. And loyalty sales represent nearly half of our first-party digital sales, significantly outperforming the pilot market results. While our near-term focus is centered on enrollment, early engagement trends reinforce our confidence in the platform. Club Wingstop has given us something we have never had before. A scalable personalization platform with millions of active guests that allows us to introduce exclusive experiences, tailor and hyper-personalized communications, deliver relevant value through targeted offers and ultimately build greater guest frequency over time. As we have discussed, value is not a one-size-fits-all. And Club Wingstop gives us the ability to deliver the right message and the right offer to the right guests at the right time. Ultimately strengthening the emotional connection with our guests. That is a much more effective way to communicate the compelling value already inherent in our menu than broad-based discounting, and one that supports both guest engagement and healthy brand partner economics. It is still early, and we have a great deal to learn as the platform continues to mature. But the pace of adoption and early engagement reinforce our confidence in Club Wingstop and its potential to become an important long-term growth platform for the brand. Awareness has grown, our focus is increasingly on converting that awareness into consideration. And one of the greatest reasons guests engage with Wingstop continues to be our unmatched flavor. Our bold and distinctive flavors have always been one of our strongest competitive advantages. And we have recently become much more intentional about maintaining a consistent cadence of innovation. Citrus Mojo and Sweet & Heat Chamoy generated great guest engagement during the quarter and we are excited about our innovation pipeline in the second half of the year. Innovation remains one of the best ways we can drive consideration, create new occasions, encourage repeat visits and reinforce what makes Wingstop unique. Operations is equally as critical to ensure we consistently deliver on the promise we are creating for our guests. That is exactly why we have remained focused on executing our Wingstop Smart Kitchen strategy. While we have more work to do, operationally, we are seeing the improvements we expected. In guest satisfaction, speed, consistency, and restaurant execution. While the current environment is masking the near-term same-store sales lift, it does not change the long-term opportunity. Smart Kitchen is designed to improve the guest experience over time, and those benefits compound as guests repeatedly experience faster and more consistent service. Our field team is supporting through training and monitoring operating standards to ensure every restaurant consistently delivers the Wingstop experience our guests expect. Our historically lower performing restaurants have improved digital guest satisfaction by more than 11 percentage points, while reducing the performance gap across the system by more than 40%. To us, those are the right leading indicators. And they reinforce our confidence that Wingstop's marketing will continue strengthening the business over the long-term. Perhaps the strongest validation of our confidence in the long-term opportunity is the confidence our brand partners can continue to demonstrate through their investment in Wingstop. New restaurant development remains healthy across both our domestic and international business, reinforcing our belief that our long-term unit economics and growth opportunity remain firmly intact. Our brand partners continue investing because they see the same long-term opportunity we do, a highly differentiated brand compelling restaurant economics, and a significant white space remaining both in the U.S. and internationally. Our brand partners in the U.S. opened more than 300 restaurants across 46 states in the last twelve months. A more than 13% growth rate. Outside of the U.S., we are continuing to make meaningful progress as we surpassed 100 restaurants in the United Kingdom, opened our flagship restaurant in Singapore, and remain on track to enter India later this year. Which represents our largest international growth opportunity to date. 2026 is on pace for another record year of openings for our international markets. We are also excited to announce that we have signed a development agreement to expand into Poland, a market with an opportunity of more than 100 restaurants. Reflecting continued confidence in the long-term international opportunity and adding another attractive growth market to our development pipeline. Finally, we are continuing to invest in one of our most important competitive advantages, our people. We have recently strengthened our leadership team with the addition of our first chief AI officer, further building the capabilities we believe are necessary to support Wingstop's next chapter of growth. Just as we have invested in our restaurants, technology, and digital capabilities, we are equally committed to investing in the talent that will help us execute our strategy and deliver on the long-term in front of us. With today's consumer backdrop, we are focused on what we can control. First, we are refining how we bring Wingstop to market. Our creative and messaging will increasingly connect our leadership and quality, bold flavor and compelling price per person value. Helping us win more occasions more consistently throughout the year. Second, we are building deeper relationships with our guests through Club Wingstop. While still early in the launch and initial results are encouraging, Club Wingstop gives us the ability to communicate more effectively, deliver value and exclusive experiences, and build greater guest frequency over time. We are also focused on driving Smart Kitchen execution. As we continue improving operational consistency across the system, we are creating a more consistent and better guest experience that reinforces everything our marketing promises and strengthens the business for the long-term. Taken together, these priorities position us to better serve our guests today while building an even stronger Wingstop for years ahead. We believe they are the right actions to strengthen the brand, create long-term shareholder value and continue advancing towards our goal of becoming a top 10 global restaurant brand. With that, I will turn the call over to Alex. Alex Kaleida: Thank you, Michael. Good morning, everyone. As Michael discussed, our second quarter results fell below our expectations and we are adapting our creative and messaging in the second half to apply what we learned in Q2. Even in this environment, our confidence in our long-term strategy has not changed. During the second quarter, we delivered system-wide sales growth double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth, and strong free cash flow generation, giving us the flexibility to continue investing behind our strategic priorities, While we were disappointed in our same-store sales result, Q2 showcased the strength of our model and we believe we are executing strategies that will return same-store sales to growth. One of the clearest financial proof points of our model continues to be our unit development. And the opportunity to scale Wingstop to more than 10,000 restaurants globally. consumer that Michael discussed earlier. However, system-wide sales grew 5.3% to approximately $1.4 billion supported by continued net new restaurant openings across the system. And as a result, royalty revenue franchise fees and other increased 8.7% to $86.8 million Company-owned restaurant sales increased 5.3% to $34.2 million which included the same-store sales decline of 2.5% during the second quarter and three additional corporate owned restaurants added since the prior year. Company-owned restaurants' same-store sales outperformed the system average and benefited from a portfolio concentrated in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. our most mature market and one that has the highest level of brand awareness. Compared to our broader system, the Dallas-Fort Worth market also has a more diversified consumer base and less concentration with the lower-income consumer, a great representation of how we see our long-term opportunity to widen our consumer base. Turning to restaurant-level margins, company-owned cost of sales improved 190 basis points to 73.3% of Company-owned restaurant sales. This improvement was primarily driven by lower bone-in wing costs. Our supply chain strategy continues to provide great visibility and predictability into food costs for our brand partners. Allowing us to benefit when market conditions become more favorable as demonstrated in Q2. SG&A expense declined $2.7 million to $30.2 million versus the prior year for the second quarter. Primarily related to the one-time stock forfeiture and stock-based compensation expense. We continue to take a disciplined approach to invest in talent and capabilities that we believe will support sustainable long-term growth. Q2 net income increased to $31.3 million or $1.15 per diluted share. An increase of 16.9% versus the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure increased 12.5% to $66.6 million. Our capital allocation priorities remain unchanged. Our first priority is investing behind our organic growth strategies, where we believe we can generate the highest long-term returns. That includes investments in technology and digital innovation, corporate restaurant operations, and the strategic initiatives Michael discussed earlier that we believe will strengthen Wingstop's long-term competitive position. In the third quarter, we expect to close on the acquisition of 13 restaurants in a market outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Representing an investment of approximately $32 million. With this acquisition, it will unlock a significant development opportunity for our company-owned portfolio that has the potential to support an additional 25 restaurants over time. When opportunities arise to deploy capital in ways that both strengthen the business and create attractive long-term returns. We continue to evaluate them through that disciplined framework. The acquired restaurants are anticipated to contribute approximately $7 million in revenue and $1 million of adjusted EBITDA for the balance of 2026. Net of the royalty impact. These restaurants operate at volumes more representative of the broader system average than our existing company-owned portfolio and we expect to invest behind operations as we integrate them. We remain committed to returning excess capital to shareholders through a balanced approach that includes both our quarterly dividend and our share repurchase program. On July 28, our board of directors approved an increase to our quarterly cash dividend from $0.30 per share to $0.33 per share. In addition through the first half of the year, we have repurchased 374,000 shares of common stock for $78.5 million. As of quarter end, approximately $313 million remained available under our share repurchase authorization. Turning to our outlook, We have updated elements of our full-year guidance to reflect both the current operating environment and the continued investments we are making across the business. First, we are updating our domestic same-store sales outlook to a decline of 4% to 6% for the year. We believe this change reflects the Q2 results in our business and the current macroeconomic environment, including recent inflation in fuel prices. Importantly, we are reiterating our global unit growth guidance of 15% to 16% for the year. We expect the pace of openings to accelerate through the balance of the year with the fourth quarter representing our largest quarter of net new restaurant openings. The health of our development pipeline continues to provide us with the visibility into the balance of the year reinforcing our confidence and one of the key drivers of our long-term algorithm. We are also updating our SG&A outlook to a range of $140 million to $143 million and stock-based compensation expense to approximately $24 million. While we have updated our same-store sales outlook to address the current environment and pressure on our core consumer, we are focusing on what we can control and the opportunities in front of us with our long-term strategies. Our brand health metrics are strong. The Wingstop Smart Kitchen elevates our operating standards to a level unseen before for the brand. The Wingstop Smart Kitchen investment along with the launch of our first loyalty program positions us for another phase of growth. And importantly, in a franchise system such as ours, we believe our unit economics remain best-in-class fueling this opportunity to bring more Wingstop to guests around the world. I want to thank our team members, supplier partners, and our brand partners for their continued commitment and dedication to Wingstop. With that operator, please open the line for questions. Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. On your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press star then 2. Again, please limit yourself to one question and a follow-up. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question comes from David Tarantino with Baird. Please go ahead. Thank you. David Tarantino: Hi, good morning. My question is on the value strategy that you mentioned related to the new approach on the marketing. So, I guess, two parts to the question. one is could you just elaborate on how you are planning to approach this? Is this you know, a discount versus what you already offer? Are you highlighting the value of what you offer? Today? And then secondly, I was hoping you could share maybe some anecdotes on whether you have some test results or proof points that might give us confidence that this strategy will indeed work to stabilize the sales trend. Thanks. Michael J. Skipworth: David, it is good morning. Thank you for the question. I think it is under it is important to understand and maybe take a little bit of a step back, and we will talk about what we saw in the second quarter. And if you recall, we talked about the need to really protect our core consumer. And so what you saw us do in the second quarter was really bring forward value messaging. And we tested a handful of ways to present value. And we also tested ways to really deconstruct inherent value on our menu to both kind of create single-eater entry price points or even a price per person for group occasions. And I think a great example to point to and what we what we really learned in Q2 was when we when we put forward 30 wings for $30. And what we saw with that promotion, David, was guests were building their own bundles with attachments and ultimately driving a higher average check well above that $30 price point. And so that really told us that it is not just price point. They saw compelling value in building their own bundles and then knowing that the value they were getting on the wings. And so it tells us, David, that quality, flavor, abundance and the value per person are key to winning more occasions for us. We also saw you also saw us increase the frequency of flavor innovation and we see measurable increases in the rate of repeat visits within the first 90 days when we bring flavor innovation forward. So another key indicator of how we can protect our core consumer. And we have a strong pipeline of flavor innovation in the back half of the year that we are we are really excited about. So we think about both flavor and value, we know that we can do a better job executing with our creative and messaging to include a call to action that shows not only quality and flavor, but also breaks through with that value per person that exists on our menu today. And as we take a step back and look at the last five years and how we have scaled brand awareness, we see a real opportunity to just for us to evolve and really focus on consideration and value per person messaging as well as flavor innovation are both things that are going to help us drive consideration, we know will drive purchase. And so you will see us evolve our marketing in the second half really more heavily focus on driving consideration And taking those learnings that we have from Q2. David Tarantino: Great. And maybe just a follow-up on the second part of my question. Is that I guess, were you seeing signs that this strategy is working under the surface? Only ask because the result for Q2 came in a bit below your expectations. So just trying to reconcile those two points where it seems like you have unlocked some concepts on value that could work. But I guess, you see it working under the surface? And giving you confidence for the second half? Michael J. Skipworth: Yes, David. We did see certain elements that we put forward showed some really positive signs. I would say taking a step back and just looking at it, at a higher level, we did see an improvement in trend as it relates to transactions. We gave a little bit of that back on ticket but did see some improvement in transactions and we also saw that drive engagement with that core guest and some of those trade areas that we referenced in our prepared remarks that are under more pressure we saw improvement in trends within those trade areas as we as we leaned in and demonstrated some of these value offerings that are inherent in our menu today. David Tarantino: Thank you very much. Michael J. Skipworth: Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Sara Senatore with Bank of America. Please go ahead. Thank you. Sara Senatore: Thank you. A question and a follow-up. I guess maybe if you could talk about the marketing perhaps a little bit, you talked about call to action. I mean, I think one of the things that we have seen is that, you know, like social, digital marketing, has been really powerful for some brands around sort of just relevance to the cultural conversation. Have you done anything, stood up social listening or changed anything about your strategy? I know you have talked about shifting a little bit more perhaps to that from linear television, but the examples you cited of really strong performance were around live sports, which I think has historically been your strong suit. So any, I guess, update on kind of a pivot that makes you a little bit more visible on social, digital media and then and a quick follow-up. Thank you. Michael J. Skipworth: Hey, Sara. Good morning. I do think kind of reiterating back to some of our prepared remarks and then my response to David earlier, you will see us get much tighter, I think, around the execution both creative in messaging that does include that call to action, but it is balanced what we have historically been really heavy in quality and flavor but also balancing that value message. And it is really about that value per person that you can get in our menu today and really finding ways to present that includes, again, that call to action. And so one of the things we have acknowledged kind of in the first half of the year and in second quarter is continuing to drive execution. As it relates to the creative and the messaging. And so you will see us continue to lean in and improve kind of the consistency and I would say a little bit of the focus around that messaging in the back half of the year. Alex Kaleida: And, Sara, this is Alex. Just to add to Michael's response. We also, alongside of our launch of Club Wingstop, we invested behind our personalization engine through CRM, through Club Wingstop that allows us to really hyper personalize that message to the guests. So some of our core consumers that are feeling more pressure could see a more value-centric message Some could see something centered around flavor to elevate to show that elevated quality that we can deliver. And then alongside of that, we now have Club Wingstop as a platform to further strengthen our value proposition through various challenges and rewarding those members with more points, more access to Wingstop. So I think the combination of that plus what Michael mentioned is something we are now able to unlock. Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Jon Tower with Citi. Please go ahead. Thank you. Jon Tower: Hey, thanks for taking the question. Maybe just a couple of ones real quick. You know, obviously, you spoke quite a bit on innovation around flavor. And that is kind of been your valid look for a long while. I am curious if there is any other innovation we should be thinking of on your menu, taking into consideration your makeline that is very, basic, and very low-SKU count but also the idea of new product news may be driving more customers to the stores. The follow-up question is around the store acquisition that you made outside of Dallas. 13 stores, but I think you alluded to the idea of 25 more potentially in the pipeline. Is it your intention to build those out yourself, from a company portfolio? Or is the idea that you will own this and then potentially refranchise that chunk at some point down the line? Michael J. Skipworth: Hey, John. Good morning. I will take the first question and I will let Alex take the second question you asked. But what I would say is I will point to and we referenced this on our prepared remarks, but we saw these kind of key moments in the quarter and even after the quarter. And I will it is kind of-- the World Cup and then certain key matchups. We saw, like, these moments that it just reminds us of how special this brand is. We saw our core guests engage with our brand in a big way On certain team matchup days, you know, we saw double-digit growth. And it shows us that the brand is still relevant. The brand is still top of mind. We just have a core guest that is under pressure, but it was that guest who has pulled back and saw these moments around whether it was NBA Finals or certain World Cup matchups where when they did choose to dine out, Wingstop was top of mind and their top choice. And so as we think about our core guests, what they come to Wingstop for, it is obviously quality it is the hand-tossed and tossed, but it is our flavor. And so we know and history has told us that when we continue to bring flavor innovation that only Wingstop can bring forward, it drives engagement with our core guests. It brings that guest back gives them another reason, and it also presents us in a way of kind of that continued cadence of innovation to bring in new guests and drive new trial with the brand. And so you will see us as it relates to innovation continuing to lean into our proven playbook around flavor innovation. And then I will let Alex answer your second question. Alex Kaleida: Hey, John. Regarding the corporate acquisition, to be clear, this is not a departure from our strategy to maintain an asset-light highly franchised model, but as we see deals throughout the years, coming through the system, we saw this market an opportunity for us to step into that was an opportunity for us to step into and in a way for us to further enhance shareholder And we do anticipate retaining this market. So in addition to the 13 restaurants, we see another potential 25 restaurants for us to build over time. Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Brian Harbour with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Thank you. Brian Harbour: Yes, thanks. Good morning, guys. When you spoke about the more challenged areas, I guess those are the lower-income markets. Do you think, I do not know if you can measure this, I mean, do you think that you are losing share there to some extent? And you know, is messaging value kind of meant to regain some of that, or do you think, you know, this is sort of a problem across these markets? Michael J. Skipworth: Hey, Brian. Good morning. I would say, obviously, what we indicated in our prepared remarks in those markets where we do have a heavier presence with the lower-income consumer, we did see a pullback in frequency. You know, for us, when we look at the data, I do not know if they are necessarily going somewhere else or just generally pulling back in this environment as we try to navigate the economic situation that they are put in. And, you know, tie back to a comment we prepared earlier or we mentioned earlier about what we saw with the World Cup. It really kind of was a strong signal that our core guest is still there. They still Wingstop is still top of mind. And so as we think about what we saw and learned in that situation, it supports how important our plan is for the second half of presenting value with our quality and flavor in a way that we believe will position us to win more occasions with that core guest. Okay. Brian Harbour: And how did third-party delivery do in the second quarter? I guess, I might think that is holding up better based on the customer base, but I was curious if you have seen that and also as you have kind of been working on the service time in that channel, you know, have you continued to see improvement there? Is that resonating at all? Michael J. Skipworth: Yeah, Brian. You know, as it relates to the third-party delivery platforms, one of the things we kind of learned as we were continuing to progress through the second quarter is not necessarily seeing the lift we maybe initially would have expected just from the improvements in speed alone. And what we did in the second quarter is really tested our way through understanding better on kind of how those algorithms work and how important conversion is as it fuels those algorithms. And so based on the what we learned in Q2 and the plan that we have in front of us for the back half of the year, we think we have got a strategy in place that will fuel those algorithms that will put Wingstop into more of the consideration set of the consideration set and position us to take advantage of the improvements we have made in speed. Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Jim Salera with Stephens. Please go ahead. Thank you. James Salera: Yes, good morning. Thanks for taking our question. I wanted to ask about the new unit opening splits Michael, you highlighted, you know, this 55% that are in these markets that are experiencing a little bit more pressure. Can you give us a sense given the new unit openings have such a strong cadence the split of the new units and if you have maybe a glide path of where you expect that to be longer term, that mix between these higher-income areas that are doing better and then maybe the more legacy units? Michael J. Skipworth: Jim, great question and good morning. What I would say is our kind of existing restaurant that we are opening and a little bit of what is in our pipeline today, I would say, generally speaking, is probably a decent representation of our of our footprint today as we execute those development playbooks. But one of the things we have talked about before is kind of that core demand space that we have and have an opportunity where we are only winning, call it, 2% to 3% of that demand space today and benchmarks suggest we should be winning close to 20% of that demand space. As you deconstruct that demand space, the majority of the spend in that demand space is represented by households that have an income level of above $100,000. And so as you think about mapping out our continued growth in the U.S., you would expect our footprint to evolve a little bit and that positions us to win more of those occasions in that demand space over time. James Salera: If we think about the demand drivers again, you called out a lot of the engagement in the lower-income is around specific events, primarily sporting events. Is that different at all with the higher-income groups? Do you see any sort of call outs or anything that is different on a kind of demand basis? Or is it they have more disposable income and so the frequency around the events is higher? Alex Kaleida: Jim, I would say that, this is Alex. The distinction was just more of our core consumer coming back in an outsized way during some of those key events. I think that was the factor. And we saw certainly engagement during, some of those, you know, more consistently in those other areas, higher-income. I think we even mentioned in our prepared remarks about them. Higher income areas outperforming those trade areas that are more concentrated low income. But the other interesting element that I would point to is within Club Wingstop, we are very focused on enrollment levels in this early phase of the launch. The characteristics of that, of the typical guest that has, enrolled in Wingstop is our core consumer, that lower-income, younger consumer demographic. And they are showing a propensity of returning at a pretty fast rate about 70% of those loyalty members that signed up are back already for another visit. So we are encouraged by that and we talked about how Club Wingstop can strengthen that value proposition. We have got a lot more of opportunity to showcase that in the coming months. Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Zachary Fadem with Wells Fargo. Please go ahead. Thank you. Zachary Fadem: Hi, good morning. I know you do not typically talk about cadence but considering all the moving parts around oil prices, sporting events and all the levers you have pulled around Club Wingstop and value. Maybe you could walk us through monthly comp performance in a little bit more detail and any changes you saw as these evolved and whether there is a specific message around early Q3 and your expectations around the shape of the back half of the year? Michael J. Skipworth: Hey, Zachary. Good morning. This is Michael. On our last call, I think you heard us signal a little bit to what we saw in the first month of the quarter. And then obviously, in May we saw gas prices kind of hit their recent peak and obviously based on the result we posted for the quarter that the impact of those elevated gas prices had a pretty pronounced impact on our core guest and so I think that should give you an indication of kind of what we saw as we progress through the quarter. You know, as we think about our guide and the balance of the year, I think our approach is pretty consistent with what we have done looking at trends in the business and obviously acknowledging the recent inflation again we have seen in gas prices but what I would really point you to is as we think about these strategies that we are executing against that we have that we have outlined here today whether it is continuing to strengthen the execution around creative and messaging to really make sure we are driving through quality flavor and then that value per person that you can get with Wingstop. Whether it is Club Wingstop which we are really excited about the early days and see that as a really encouraging and exciting long-term driver for our business. And then we talked about Smart Kitchen, the progress we are making there is really encouraging, but continuing to execute from an operations perspective to help deliver that overall guest experience where they can ultimately say when they come to Wingstop, man, that was really worth it. And so as we think about continuing to execute against these in the back half of the year, I would basically just kind of point you to or encourage you to kind of think about a ratable improvement in the trend as we progress through the back half of the year. Got it. Zachary Fadem: And then we have a favorable environment for wing prices right now. And I am curious to what extent you think value efforts can sustain considering the profit dynamic? And then separate question around your EBITDA. For the year and to what extent you think double-digit growth could still be on the table? Alex Kaleida: Hey, Zachary. Yeah. Regarding the, favorable market dynamics, you kind of saw that play out in the second quarter with our food costs. But we do see that and we have been with our brand partners about an opportunity to invest behind our value strategies. And so I think we can take advantage of the market with the market backdrop on wings and allow that to, help us invest behind our bundles and the flavor strategies quality that we are gonna deliver across the board. And I think with regards to our growth for the balance of the year, it still can imply a double-digit rate on adjusted EBITDA versus the prior year based on the shape of our guidance. Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Danilo Gargiulo with Bernstein. Please go ahead. Thank you. Danilo Gargiulo: Thank you. Michael, historically, when same-store sales decline in the industry, typically, respond by reducing labor in their store. And I wonder whether you have seen that trend also across franchisees and therefore, you are expecting that their four-wall economics might be largely unaffected this year? Michael J. Skipworth: Hey, Danilo. Thank you for the question. I think as it relates to labor, particularly in our restaurants, we have run a highly efficient labor model within our restaurants, and so there is not a lot of labor in there to begin with. And as you think about recent sales, you know, I would not necessarily point to margin benefit or anything like that. But what I would point you to is just the reality of the strength of our model the AUV growth we have seen over the past 4 or five years as we sit here today and pair that with supply chain strategy that we are executing against that Alex just referenced, the unit economics for our Wingstop today are still really strong. And I think, you know, one of the biggest and most supportive statements to really back that up is if you look at our unit guide this year, which we reiterated to 15% to 16% unit growth And then obviously, we referenced it in our prepared remarks, but to have a development pipeline that is sitting at a record level today as well. It really shows the level of commitment and excitement our brand partners have to continue to invest in Wingstop. Thank you. Danilo Gargiulo: And then exactly to this point, you pointed out as well that the franchisee economics really dictate their willingness to be opening stores. Today, you are sitting still at $one.9 million average unit volume, which is significant above. Your historical level. And I am wondering at what point of same-store sales growth do you expect them to start to feel their conviction on the long-term? And potentially reduce the net unit growth from the 15%-plus that we are seeing today? Thank you. Michael J. Skipworth: Well, I think Danilo, as we indicated with our guide for the balance of the year and these strategies that we are executing against, it clearly implies a pretty meaningful inflection in the trend that we have in our business today. And so we are more focused on executing against that and continuing to work our way towards growth and continuing to work towards expanding AUVs which we know will only continue to fuel one of the strongest development pipelines in the industry. Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Gregory Francfort with Guggenheim Securities. Please go ahead. Thank you. Gregory Francfort: Thanks, Michael. Just a follow-up on Danilo's question. I guess I think you guys have had or suggested that the cannibalization is not that material to your system. I guess we just look at the down high single digit comps and you maybe help us understand what you are seeing or give us maybe some data points that support that no reason necessarily for franchisees or you guys to start pulling back unit growth? Thanks. Michael J. Skipworth: Yeah, Gregory. As it relates to cannibalization, we referenced in Q1 that we actually saw that impact retract to kind of below historical levels and measure it obviously every quarter. And Q2, actually, it got a little bit lower than that even. And so, what I would really point to as it relates to the pipeline and unit growth is that really tie back to a lot of the conversations I have been having with our brand partners out in market and their level of excitement with these strategies that we are executing, what they are seeing from Smart Kitchen, what they are seeing in the early days of Club Wingstop, and then obviously, you know, when they experience those moments that I referenced that we saw, whether it is around NBA Finals or World Cup, it is a reminder of how special this brand is. And so our brand partners are bought in and that is really what I would point you to around the continued pace of growth in front of us. Gregory Francfort: Helpful. Thank you. Operator: Okay. Did you have a follow-up, sir? Gregory Francfort: No. Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Brian Vaccaro with Raymond James. Please go ahead. Thank you. Brian Vaccaro: Hi. Thank you. Back to the need, just for more value, I am curious what led you to conclude that beyond just sort of your softer comp trends and maybe some of the macro things you are seeing in the markets you highlighted? And dynamic I wanted to ask about specifically was around product mix. And I am curious if sales for chicken sandwich or other boneless products have been softer than bone-in wings, which may reflect some of the more intense value competition from QSR competitors. Just curious on that or any other dynamics as you sort of look under the hood to learn more about kind of what this value opportunity might look like? Michael J. Skipworth: Hey, Brian. Good morning. You know, I would what I would really point to and I think what you heard us say, earlier was when we saw the conflict in the Middle East and what happened with gas prices and just that incremental pressure on our core guest. We saw that as clearly-- the need and the kind of the catalyst for us to really lean in and protect our core guests and make sure that we are presenting them with value. And as we mentioned, we tried several different tactics on ways to deliver value and the messaging around it and it really laddered back to our core occasion, that group occasion, and making sure that we are messaging in a breakthrough way that value per person that we can deliver at Wingstop. It has been $8 per person for several years now, and that is still that is a pretty compelling value when you match that against the quality, the flavor, that our guests enjoy and get from Wingstop and pair that with the experience they now get in the restaurant supported by Wingstop Smart Kitchen and the team's execution there around speed and consistency. All of those are really what give us a lot of encouragement and us a little bit of confidence in what we see in the back half of the year as we execute against a plan that is really centered around continuing to tighten the execution around creative around messaging and making sure it is breakthrough with that value per person. And I would say that it relates as it relates to the menu, Yeah. As it relates to menu mix, you know, I think it has a little bit to do with our core guests and obviously bone-in wings are our kind of halo product and our hero product if you will. And when we saw these core guests re-engage they came back to Wingstop for what they love about Wingstop, and a lot of that is centered around our bone-in wing product and you know, as we saw with some of the tests that we demonstrated in Q2, I referenced 30-for-30 where we saw it engage with our core guests and then they built their own bundle in a way that ultimately drove ticket. For us on those occasions. And so I think I look at that as really positive and something that we can continue to lean in as we protect that core guest of ours in the back half of the year and win more occasions with them. Okay. Brian Vaccaro: That is helpful. And I guess the follow-up within that, you talk about the 30-for-30 bundle. And we have seen other bundles even last year, things like the Game Time promotion at $35. 20-for-20 in the middle part of last year, those types of things. But I guess I am thinking and you referenced it as sort of the single-eater price points and, you know, the importance of being in that $10 or lower range. Can you and I know you have been testing some of these things in recent months. Can you talk about the performance of, say, $1 wings in that 10-for-10 band? The flavor combos for $10, or even some of the early learnings on the $5-and-under Tastings Menu that I think you are you are testing in three or four different, cities. Can you talk about the importance of that sort of $10 and under versus the bundle and just sort of re-communicating that yeah, $35 you can eat for $8 if you have a big group. That single eater. Can you provide more color on that opportunity? Alex Kaleida: Hey, Brian, this is Alex. I think the simple way to think about it is we are deconstructing this inherent value in our menu to showcase a lower entry price point for consumers. If you know, there is still this opportunity for us to educate guests on how to navigate our menu. And that is some of the learnings we are extracting from Q2. I think that Flavors Under $5 is a good example that it is the same value as it would be with a larger group pack that is on our menu. We are just helping guests identify that easy entry point. And then what the reality is, they are building their ticket that is much higher than that less-than-$5 price point that they see. Thank you. Operator: This concludes our question-and-answer session and Wingstop Inc.'s Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Wingstop, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Wingstop wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $397,405!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,344,091!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 953% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 214% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 7, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool recommends Wingstop. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Wingstop (WING) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Same-Store Sales Decline: 7.5% decline in the second quarter. System-Wide Sales Growth: 5.3% increase to approximately $1.4 billion. Royalty Revenue, Franchise Fees, and Other: Increased 8.7% to $86.8 million. Company-Owned Restaurant Sales: Increased 5.3% to $34.2 million. Net Income: Increased to $31.3 million or $1.15 per diluted share, a 16.9% increase versus the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA: Increased 12.5% to $66.6 million. Restaurant Level Margins: Cost of sales improved 190 basis points to 73.3% of company-owned restaurant sales. SG&A Expense: Declined $2.7 million to $30.2 million. Dividend Increase: Quarterly cash dividend increased from $0.30 per share to $0.33 per share. Share Repurchases: 374,324 shares repurchased for $78.5 million, with $313 million remaining under authorization. Global Unit Growth Guidance: Reiterated at 15 to 16% for the year. SG&A Outlook: Updated to a range of $140 to $143 million. Stock-Based Compensation Expense: Approximately $24 million. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 9 Warning Signs with APYRF. Is WING fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: July 29, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ:WING) launched Club Wingstop, its first loyalty program, which exceeded enrollment expectations by 22% and represents nearly half of first-party digital sales. The company saw strong international growth, surpassing 100 restaurants in the UK and opening a flagship restaurant in Singapore, with plans to enter India and Poland. Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ:WING) reported a 12.5% increase in adjusted EBITDA to $66.6 million, showcasing strong financial performance despite challenges. The company is focusing on flavor innovation, with new offerings like Citrus Moho and Sweet Heat Chamoy driving guest engagement. Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ:WING) maintained strong unit economics, with a record development pipeline and plans to open more than 300 restaurants in the US over the next year. Same-store sales declined by 7.5% in the second quarter, falling short of expectations due to pressure on core guests. The company is exposed to consumers in urban areas who are disproportionately impacted by inflation, leading to a 9% decline in digital guest visits in these areas. Despite improvements in speed and consistency, the anticipated lift from third-party delivery platforms was not realized. The company had to adjust its domestic same-store sales outlook to a decline of 4 to 6% for the year due to macroeconomic pressures. Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ:WING) faced challenges in effectively communicating value to consumers, impacting sales trends. Q: Can you elaborate on your new value strategy and share any proof points that might give confidence in its effectiveness? A: Michael Skipworth, CEO: In Q2, we tested various value messaging strategies, such as the "30 wings for $30" promotion, which led to guests building their own bundles and increasing average checks. This indicates that quality, flavor, abundance, and value per person are key to winning more occasions. We also saw increased frequency of flavor innovations driving repeat visits, which will be a focus in the second half of the year. Q: How are you planning to enhance your marketing strategy, particularly in digital and social media? A: Michael Skipworth, CEO: We are focusing on improving creative execution and messaging, emphasizing value per person alongside quality and flavor. Alex Kaleida, CFO, added that the launch of Club Wingstop allows for hyper-personalized messaging, offering value-centric or flavor-focused communications to different consumer segments. Q: Are there any plans for menu innovation beyond flavor, and what is the strategy for the newly acquired stores outside Dallas? A: Michael Skipworth, CEO: We will continue to focus on flavor innovation, which has proven effective in engaging core guests and attracting new ones. Alex Kaleida, CFO, mentioned that the acquisition of 13 stores is not a shift from our asset-light model but an opportunity to enhance shareholder returns. We plan to retain and potentially expand this market. Q: How are you addressing the challenges in lower-income markets, and is there a strategy to regain share in these areas? A: Michael Skipworth, CEO: We observed a pullback in frequency in lower-income markets, likely due to economic pressures. However, events like the World Cup showed that Wingstop remains top of mind for our core guests. Our strategy focuses on presenting value with quality and flavor to win more occasions with these consumers. Q: Can you provide insights into the performance of third-party delivery and any improvements in service time? A: Michael Skipworth, CEO: We did not see the expected lift from speed improvements alone in Q2. We are refining our strategy to better leverage delivery platform algorithms, aiming to enhance Wingstop's consideration and capitalize on service time improvements. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Management attributed the 7.5% same-store sales decline to pronounced financial pressure on core guests, particularly in urban trade areas which comprise over 55% of the domestic footprint. A divergence in performance was noted between lower-income trade areas, where digital frequency declined approximately 9%, and higher-income areas which saw growth. The brand identified that while awareness has grown 5 percentage points over the past year, the strategic focus must shift from building awareness to converting it into consideration. Performance during the World Cup and NBA Finals served as a proof point that the brand remains highly relevant for group occasions when guests choose to treat themselves. Management clarified that current challenges are macro-driven rather than structural, as Wingstop continues to rank among the strongest restaurant brands for quality, with aided brand awareness increasing by more than 5 percentage points over the past year. The 'Wingstop Smart Kitchen' platform is being operationalized to improve speed and consistency, with lower-performing restaurants already seeing an 11 percentage point gain in digital satisfaction. The national launch of 'Club Wingstop' exceeded expectations, with enrollments tracking 22% ahead of internal targets and loyalty sales representing nearly half of first-party digital sales. Full-year domestic same-store sales guidance was revised to a decline of 4% to 6%, factoring in persistent inflation and recent volatility in fuel prices. The second-half strategy focuses on 'value-per-person' messaging, highlighting that groups can still eat for approximately $8 per person to drive more frequent occasions. Management expects a ratable improvement in sales trends throughout the back half of the year as new creative messaging and flavor innovations take hold. Global unit growth guidance of 15% to 16% was reiterated, supported by a record development pipeline and the planned entry into the Polish and Indian markets. The company plans to utilize its new personalization engine within Club Wingstop to deliver hyper-personalized, value-centric offers to price-sensitive guests without broad-based discounting. Wingstop announced the acquisition of 13 restaurants outside the Dallas-Fort Worth area for $32 million to unlock a development territory for 25 additional corporate locations. The quarterly cash dividend was increased by 10%, from $0.30 to $0.33 per share, reflecting confidence in long-term free cash flow generation. The company appointed its first Chief AI Officer to strengthen technological capabilities and support the next phase of digital growth. Lower bone-in wing costs contributed to a 190 basis point improvement in company-owned cost of sales, providing a buffer to invest in value-based marketing. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management noted that the '30-for-30' bundle validated that guests will build their own bundles, driving average first-party ticket growth of nearly 17%. The strategy is focused on deconstructing inherent menu value to show accessible entry points, such as 'Flavors Under $10', rather than deep discounting. Management admitted they did not see the immediate lift expected from improved service speeds on delivery platforms. New strategies are being implemented to fuel delivery algorithms by focusing on conversion rates to increase Wingstop's visibility in the consideration set. Despite negative comps, management stated that cannibalization has actually decreased to below historical levels. Brand partners remain committed to the 15-16% unit growth target due to strong long-term unit economics and the success of the Smart Kitchen rollout. Early data shows that 70% of loyalty members who signed up have already returned for a subsequent visit. The program is specifically attracting the core younger, lower-income demographic, providing a direct channel to stabilize their frequency.

Wingstop (WING) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.18 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02 per share. This compares to earnings of $1 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +15.69%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this restaurant chain would post earnings of $1.02 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.18, delivering a surprise of +15.69%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Wingstop, which belongs to the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry, posted revenues of $185.56 million for the quarter ended June 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.39%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $174.33 million. The company has not been able to beat consensus revenue estimates over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Wingstop shares have lost about 43.5% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.5%. While Wingstop has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Wingstop was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.15 on $197.72 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $4.55 on $773.05 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Retail - Restaurants is currently in the bottom 26% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. One other stock from the same industry, Shake Shack (SHAK), is yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 5. This burger chain is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.33 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -25%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. Shake Shack's revenues are expected to be $417.79 million, up 17.2% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Wingstop Inc. (WING) : Free Stock Analysis Report Shake Shack, Inc. (SHAK) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Interested in Wingstop Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Domestic same-store sales fell 7.5% in fiscal Q2 2026 as inflation and economic uncertainty pressured Wingstop’s lower-income customer base, particularly in urban markets. Management described the weakness as macroeconomic rather than structural and lowered its full-year same-store sales outlook to a 4%–6% decline. Wingstop is emphasizing value and customer engagement through promotions, group bundles and its new Club Wingstop loyalty program, which exceeded enrollment expectations by 22%; about 70% of members had already returned for another visit. Despite weaker comparable sales, systemwide sales rose 5.3%, net income increased 16.9% and adjusted EBITDA grew 12.5%, supported by new restaurant openings. Management maintained its 15%–16% global unit-growth forecast, citing a strong development pipeline in the U.S. and internationally. Investors Are Buying Into Sweetgreen Again—Should They? Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) reported a 7.5% decline in domestic same-store sales for its fiscal second quarter of 2026, as the restaurant chain said its core lower-income consumer faced greater pressure from inflation and economic uncertainty than management had anticipated. President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Skipworth said the company’s financial performance fell short of expectations, but he characterized the sales weakness as macroeconomic rather than structural. More than 55% of Wingstop’s domestic restaurants are in urban trade areas with households facing greater financial stress, he said. Digital guest visits and frequency in those areas declined about 9% during the quarter, while visits in higher-income trade areas increased. → This Tiny AI Supplier Could Be More Important Than the Chipmakers MarketBeat Week in Review – 06/08 - 06/12 “The challenge we’re facing today is not structural and not a reflection of our brand relevance or product quality,” Skipworth said. He noted that aided brand awareness increased by more than five percentage points over the past year and said independent tracking continues to rank Wingstop among the stronger restaurant brands for quality. Wingstop said it will refine its marketing strategy in the second half of 2026 to more explicitly communicate value, particularly for group occasions. Skipworth said guests can feed a group at Wingstop for approximately $8 per person, but the company needs to make that value more apparent amid broader industry price-point messaging. → Refiner Stocks Are Near Record Highs—Can Iran-Driven Margins Keep Them There? Short Sellers Are Piling Into Wingstop, But Analysts See Big Upside During the quarter, the company tested several value-oriented promotions, including a $1 wing offer, a “30 for $30” bundle and “Flavors Under $10” messaging. The 30-wing promotion increased average first-party ticket by nearly 17%, as customers added items and built larger bundles, according to Skipworth. Satisfaction scores improved in 89% of markets where the lower-price flavor promotion ran. Management said the tests helped improve transaction trends in more financially stressed trade areas, though some of that transaction improvement was offset by lower ticket. Wingstop plans to pair value messaging with its established focus on flavor, quality and abundance rather than broadly discounting the menu. → Innovative ETF Strategies That Are Paying Off This Summer Skipworth also pointed to higher sales during major sporting events as evidence that the brand remains relevant with its core consumers. On certain World Cup match days, same-store sales moved into double-digit growth, while similar results occurred in markets where hometown teams competed in the NBA Finals. Customers on those occasions often ordered for groups, increasing average ticket and choosing bundled offerings, he said. The company nationally launched Club Wingstop, its first loyalty program, during the quarter. Wingstop said enrollments in the program are tracking 22% ahead of its expectations just weeks after launch. Loyalty-related sales represented nearly half of first-party digital sales, exceeding results from pilot markets. Management said the program provides a platform for personalized offers, targeted communications, exclusive experiences and loyalty challenges. Alex Kaleida, senior vice president and chief financial officer, said the company’s customer relationship management investments can help deliver more value-focused messages to guests under financial pressure while providing flavor- or quality-oriented communications to other customers. Wingstop said approximately 70% of enrolled loyalty members had already returned for another visit. The company identified the typical early Club Wingstop member as its younger, lower-income core consumer demographic. The chain also continued rolling out its Wingstop Smart Kitchen operating platform. Skipworth said the initiative has improved guest satisfaction, speed, consistency and restaurant execution, although the current sales environment has masked its near-term impact on same-store sales. Historically lower-performing restaurants improved digital guest satisfaction by more than 11 percentage points, reducing the performance gap across the system by more than 40%, according to the company. Systemwide sales increased 5.3% to approximately $1.4 billion, supported by new restaurant openings. Royalty revenue, franchise fees and other revenue rose 8.7% to $86.8 million. Company-owned restaurant sales increased 5.3% to $34.2 million. Company-owned same-store sales declined 2.5%, outperforming the broader system. Net income rose 16.9% from the prior year to $31.3 million, or $1.15 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA increased 12.5% to $66.6 million. Company-owned cost of sales improved 190 basis points to 73.3% of company-owned restaurant sales, primarily due to lower bone-in wing costs. Kaleida said the company-owned portfolio benefited from its concentration in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, which has high brand awareness and a more diversified consumer base than the broader Wingstop system. Wingstop updated its full-year domestic same-store sales outlook to a decline of 4% to 6%, citing second-quarter performance, the macroeconomic environment and recent fuel-price inflation. The company reiterated its forecast for 15% to 16% global unit growth and said the fourth quarter is expected to be its largest period for net new restaurant openings. It also updated its SG&A outlook to $140 million to $143 million and projected stock-based compensation expense of approximately $24 million. Despite the weaker sales trend, Wingstop said its development pipeline and franchisee demand remain strong. Domestic franchisees opened more than 300 restaurants in 46 states over the last 12 months, representing growth of more than 13%. Internationally, the company surpassed 100 restaurants in the United Kingdom, opened a flagship location in Singapore and said it remains on track to enter India later this year. Wingstop also signed a development agreement for Poland, where management sees an opportunity for more than 100 restaurants. In the third quarter, Wingstop expects to close on the acquisition of 13 restaurants outside the Dallas-Fort Worth area for approximately $32 million. The company said the market could support an additional 25 company-owned restaurants over time. The acquired locations are expected to contribute about $7 million in revenue and $1 million in adjusted EBITDA for the balance of 2026, net of royalty impact. The board also increased Wingstop’s quarterly cash dividend to $0.33 per share from $0.30 per share. Through the first half of the year, the company repurchased 374,324 shares for $78.5 million, with approximately $313 million remaining under its repurchase authorization at quarter-end. Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ: WING) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders. The company's core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Wingstop Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for July 2026.

Fast-food chain Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) will be reporting results this Wednesday before market hours. Here’s what you need to know. Wingstop missed analysts’ revenue expectations last quarter, reporting revenues of $183.7 million, up 7.4% year on year. It was a softer quarter for the company, with a significant miss of analysts’ same-store sales estimates and a miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates. Is Wingstop a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members. This quarter, the market is expecting Wingstop’s revenue to grow 9.2% year on year, slowing from the 12% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business will stay the course heading into earnings. Wingstop has missed Wall Street’s revenue estimates multiple times over the last two years. Looking at Wingstop’s peers in the restaurants segment, some have already reported their Q2 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Domino's delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 4.3%, beating analysts’ expectations by 1.2%, and Darden reported revenues up 13.7%, in line with consensus estimates. Domino's traded up 1.3% following the results. Read our full analysis of Domino’s results here and Darden’s results here. In the last year or so, investors have shifted their focus from one macro dynamic to the next (AI disintermediation and AI investment to geopolitical conflict, interest rates, and the health of the wider economy). While some of the restaurants stocks have shown solid performance in this choppy environment, the group has generally underperformed, with share prices down 2.7% on average over the last month. Wingstop is down 17% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $224.48 (compared to the current share price of $137.38). ONE MORE THING: The $21 AI Application Stock Wall Street Forgot. While Wall Street obsesses over who’s building AI, one company is already using it to print money. And nobody’s paying attention. AI chip stocks trade at ridiculous valuations. This company processes a trillion consumer signals monthly using AI and trades at a third of the price. The gap won’t last. The institutions will figure it out. You need to see this first. Read the FREE Report Before They Notice.

This is a big week in the second quarter earnings season as over 700 companies are expected to report earnings, including many S&P 500 companies. That includes four of the Magnificent 7 stocks: Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and Meta Platforms. But what if the Mag 7 companies report earnings and no one cares? Attention is now routinely turning to other companies outside of the trillion-dollar market cap companies. That’s true this week as well. Every industry will be reporting this week including key restaurants like Chipotle, Wingstop and Starbucks, financials such as Visa and Mastercard, important AI infrastructure companies like Vertiv and MasTec, lots of auto retailers like Carvana and Lithia Motors, gold miners like Eldorado and Kinross, and shoe retailers including Crocs, Boot Barn and Steve Madden. It’s difficult to narrow it down to just five companies but these are the must-watch earnings reports this week. 1. Visa Inc. (V) Visa is the ultimate earnings all-star. It has never missed on earnings since its 2008 IPO. That’s an incredible record that will stand for many years. Shares of Visa are up 8% in the last month but only 2.9% over the last year. Earnings are expected to rise 14.4% this year and another 13.4% next year. Visa trades with a forward P/E of 27. Visa is trading near its all-time high, even as it seems to be treading water. Is it ready to break out again? 2. Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) Lam Research is an earnings all-star. It has only missed once on earnings in the last five years and it was in 2022. That is an incredible track record. Earnings are expected to jump 37.2% this year and another 39.3% in 2027. But shares of Lam Research have sold off. It’s now down 30.5% in the last month but was down “only” 17.2% when the video was recorded on July 27, 2026. Lam Research is still up 167% over the last year. Lam Research now trades with a forward P/E of 36.7. It did trade in the 40s just a month ago. Is Lam Research on sale? 3. Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) Starbucks is in the middle of a corporate turnaround. It beat on earnings last quarter after having missed four quarters in a row prior to that. CEO Brian Niccol has been at the helm since 2024. Expectations are growing regarding the turnaround. Earnings are expected to rise 13.2% in 2026 after falling 35.6% in 2025. Shares of Starbucks are up 10.2% in the last year. It’s not cheap, however. Starbucks trades with a forward P/E of 42.8. Will the Starbucks turnaround gain momentum this year? 4. Robinhood Markets, Inc. (HOOD) Robinhood is coming off of an earnings miss last quarter, after beating on earnings 5 quarters in a row prior to that miss. Earnings are expected to decline 9.3% this year but rebound 39.8% in 2027. Shares of Robinhood have struggled in the last year, falling 6.9% in that time. It’s not cheap, though. Robinhood trades with a forward P/E of 51. Will Robinhood get back on track with an earnings beat this quarter? 5. MasTec, Inc. (MTZ) MasTec has only missed once on earnings in five years and that was in 2023. That’s impressive. MasTec is an AI Revolution stock as it’s building the data centers. Earnings are expected to jump 46.3% this year and another 52% in 2027. Shares of MasTec soared over the last year but have plunged 20% in the prior month as investors have sold the AI Revolution stocks. MasTec is now trading with a forward P/E of 35. Is MasTec on sale? [In full disclosure, Tracey owns shares of SBUX in her personal portfolio.] Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Visa Inc. (V) : Free Stock Analysis Report Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) : Free Stock Analysis Report MasTec, Inc. (MTZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Robinhood Markets, Inc. (HOOD) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

The market expects BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) to deliver a year-over-year decline in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company's earnings picture, but a powerful factor that might influence its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 30. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise. This restaurant chain is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.87 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -10.3%. Revenues are expected to be $374.62 million, up 2.5% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). For BJ's Restaurants, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +7.51%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #2. So, this combination indicates that BJ's Restaurants will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that BJ's Restaurants would post earnings of $0.61 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.57, delivering a surprise of -6.56%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times. An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. BJ's Restaurants appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Wingstop (WING), another stock in the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry, is expected to report earnings per share of $1.02 for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate points to a year-over-year change of +2%. Revenues for the quarter are expected to be $190.11 million, up 9.1% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for Wingstop has been revised 1.2% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. However, a higher Most Accurate Estimate has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +3.60%. This Earnings ESP, combined with its Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggests that Wingstop will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) : Free Stock Analysis Report Wingstop Inc. (WING) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research