Wendy's Co (WEN) Stock Forecast Oct. 16, 2026
Analysis updated on Oct. 16, 2026 (UTC) · Alpha · vs marketSwitch to Total · Nasdaq
Wendy's Co (WEN) stock forecast summary
Our AI ranks Wendy's Co outside the neutral middle of its coverage (a directional signal). Create a free account and follow it to see the exact price target.
Wendy's Co is a small-cap company with a market capitalization of $1.28B. It ranks number 5 by market capitalization among the 10 Retail-Eating & Drinking Places issuers in our coverage with a current forecast. Its Current Ratio of 1.90x is the highest of the 9 peers that report one.
For WEN, the Spearman rank correlation between our 90-day forecasts and the returns that followed is 12.0%, measured on 357 forecast dates between 2022-07-29 and 2026-07-17 on this stock's own recent history. A rank correlation runs from -100% to +100%: it measures whether higher forecasts were followed by higher returns, and a value near zero or below means the model has shown little skill on this stock. On the 30-day forecasts the same correlation is 12.0%, measured on 400 forecast dates between 2022-07-29 and 2026-09-16. Across our coverage, the out-of-sample test on 4495 stocks from 2025-01-06 to 2026-07-07 produced a positive net return in 82.5% of rebalance periods (factor-neutral book, net of estimated costs). Full backtest report
Expected return relative to the market over the horizon: a positive alpha means the model expects the stock to beat the market, whatever the market does. Ratings: strong buy ≥ +1.8%, buy ≥ +0.2%, sell < -0.9%, strong sell < -1.2% (top 15%, next 20%, middle 30%, next 20%, bottom 15% of the 2026-10-16 signals)
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How WEN ranks among 5172 stocks
90D Alpha forecasts of every company scored, cut into five relative ratings at the 15th, 35th, 65th and 85th percentiles (dashed lines).
Wendy's Co (WEN) fundamentals
Trailing twelve months. The industry median and the rank (1 = highest) are taken over the Retail-Eating & Drinking Places peers listed below that report each metric.
Valuation & Market
| Metric | WEN | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $1.28B | 5/10 |
| P/E Ratio | 9.18x | 5/5 |
| P/B Ratio | 10.60x | 2/6 |
| Dividend Yield | 8.35% | – |
| EPS | $0.73 | – |
| Book Value/Share | $0.63 | – |
| Revenue/Share | $11.56 | – |
| FCF/Share | $1.39 | – |
Profitability & Margins
| Metric | WEN | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| ROE | 104.6% | – |
| ROA | 2.6% | 2/6 |
| ROIC | 6.6% | 2/5 |
| Gross Margin | 63.0% | – |
| Operating Margin | 13.6% | 1/7 |
| Net Margin | 5.7% | 1/6 |
| EBT Margin | 8.1% | 2/7 |
| Tax Rate | 29.6% | – |
Financial Health
| Metric | WEN | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 1.90x | 1/9 |
| Quick Ratio | 1.88x | 1/6 |
| D/E Ratio | 39.54x | 1/6 |
| Financial Leverage | 40.54x | 1/5 |
| Interest Coverage | 0.4x | 7/10 |
| Working Capital | $321M | 2/8 |
Cash Flow
| Metric | WEN | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash Flow | $358M | 3/8 |
| Free Cash Flow | $264M | 2/6 |
| Capital Spending | -$94M | 3/6 |
| OCF Growth YoY | 0.7% | – |
| FCF Growth YoY | 2.8% | – |
| FCF/Sales | 12.0% | 1/6 |
| CapEx/Sales | 4.3% | 4/6 |
Operational Efficiency
| Metric | WEN | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Asset Turnover | 0.45x | 4/5 |
| Inventory Turnover | 115.9x | – |
| Fixed Assets Turnover | 2.5x | 4/6 |
| Days Inventory | 3 days | – |
| Payables Period | 10 days | 4/5 |
Income Statement
| Metric | WEN | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue | $2.20B | 2/6 |
| Operating Income | $300M | 2/8 |
| Net Income | $126M | 2/7 |
| Cost of Goods Sold | $815M | 2/5 |
Dividend & Shareholder Information
| Metric | WEN | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends Per Share | $0.56 | – |
| Payout Ratio | 76.7% | – |
| Shares Outstanding | 191M | – |
| Net Income Growth | -34.4% | – |
| EPS Growth | -24.7% | – |
Balance Sheet Highlights (USD millions)
| Total Current Assets | $678M | 13.9% of assets |
| Cash & Short-term Investments | $341M | 7.0% of assets |
| Inventory | $7M | 0.1% of assets |
| Total Liabilities | $4.76B | 97.5% of assets |
| Short-term Debt | $336M | 6.9% of assets |
WEN quarterly financials and insider trading
Wendy's Co (WEN) industry peers
Companies classified under the same SEC industry code as Wendy's Co (Retail-Eating & Drinking Places): 10 common-stock issuers with a forecast this week, one row per issuer, largest first. This is a classification match, not a curated list of competitors.
Reveal all forecasts · See exact % predictions for all competitors
Sign up free| Company | 90-Day AI Forecast (Alpha) | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|
| WEN Wendy's Co | ▲ | $1.28B |
| SBUX Starbucks Corp | ▶ | $111.17B |
| LKNCY Luckin Coffee Inc. | ▶ | $10.67B |
| BROS Dutch Bros Inc. | ▼ | $7.19B |
| SHAK Shake Shack Inc. | ▶ | $3.00B |
| CNNE Cannae Holdings, Inc. | ▶ | $688M |
| BRCB Black Rock Coffee Bar, Inc. | ▶ | $179M |
| EAIQ Eyeonix Aiq, Inc. | ▼ | $33M |
| SDOT Sadot Group Inc. | ▼ | $11M |
| KITL Kisses From Italy Inc. | ▲ | $510K |
Where WEN sits on the market map
Wendy's Co (WEN) stock news
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Wendy's Co (WEN) stock forecast FAQ
What is the Wendy's Co (WEN) stock forecast?
Our AI ranks Wendy's Co outside the neutral middle of its coverage (a directional signal). Create a free account and follow it to see the exact price target.
How accurate are Wendy's Co stock predictions?
For WEN, the Spearman rank correlation between our 90-day forecasts and the returns that followed is 12.0%, measured on 357 forecast dates between 2022-07-29 and 2026-07-17 on this stock's own recent history. A rank correlation runs from -100% to +100%: it measures whether higher forecasts were followed by higher returns, and a value near zero or below means the model has shown little skill on this stock. On the 30-day forecasts the same correlation is 12.0%, measured on 400 forecast dates between 2022-07-29 and 2026-09-16. Across our coverage, the out-of-sample test on 4495 stocks from 2025-01-06 to 2026-07-07 produced a positive net return in 82.5% of rebalance periods (factor-neutral book, net of estimated costs). Full backtest report
How often are Wendy's Co forecasts updated?
Wendy's Co forecasts are refreshed on trading days as the daily model run completes. The forecast on this page was produced on Oct. 16, 2026.
Which companies are Wendy's Co's industry peers?
10 issuers in our coverage, WEN included, share the SEC industry code Retail-Eating & Drinking Places. The largest are: Starbucks Corp (SBUX), Luckin Coffee Inc. (LKNCY), Dutch Bros Inc. (BROS), Shake Shack Inc. (SHAK), Cannae Holdings, Inc. (CNNE), Black Rock Coffee Bar, Inc. (BRCB).
This analysis is generated automatically using our proprietary AI systems and should not be considered personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Always conduct your own research and consider consulting a financial advisor before making investment decisions.