Wendy’s closing hundreds of locations: List of fast food casualties in 2025 grows longer

Wendy’s announced plans to close a “mid-single-digit percentage” of its underperforming U.S. store locations, during its quarterly earnings call on Friday, or 200 to 350 of some 6,000 locations, according to CNN.

The news comes as the fast-food giant reports third-quarter profits of $44.3 million, with $549.5 million in revenue, beating analyst expectations by 2.71%; and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 24 cents, versus 20 cents. International business delivered strong system-wide sales growth, with international net unit growth expected to come in over 9% in 2025.

Shares in Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) were up about 2% in midday trading on Friday, after Wendy’s stock surged 11.66% in pre-market trading.

On the earnings call, Interim CEO Ken Cook said the shuttering will begin this year and continue through 2026, but did not give a list of specific locations. He said Wendy’s will approach the closings on a case-by-case basis.

He explained some of their current restaurants “do not elevate the brand” and are “a drag from a franchisee financial performance perspective.” The goal is to address and fix those restaurants by improving operations, through additional technology, or equipment. In other cases, that means closing a restaurant “which will put money back in franchisees’ pockets and enable them to reinvest both capital and resources in their remaining restaurants.”

The bottom line: “Closures of underperforming units are expected to boost sales and profitability at nearby locations,” Cook said.

One year ago, in November 2024, Wendy’s also announced it was closing 140 ‘outdated’ restaurants.

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