Wendy’s Q4 Sales Drop 8.3% as U.S. Same-Store Sales Fall 11.3%
Global system-wide sales fell 8.3% in Q4 2025 due to reduced U.S. marketing spend and SpongeBob collaboration comps, while U.S. same-store sales plummeted 11.3%. Wendy’s introduced Project Fresh, pivoted back to premium hamburger innovation, and reported U.S. company-operated restaurants outperformed by 310 basis points, with 121 net new international units.
1. Q4 Sales Decline and Performance
In Q4 2025, Wendy’s reported an 8.3% global system-wide sales decline, with U.S. same-store sales falling 11.3% due to reduced marketing spend and difficult year-over-year comparisons to the prior year’s SpongeBob collaboration.
2. Project Fresh Turnaround Plan
The company introduced its Project Fresh turnaround plan to address operational drift, shifting focus from short-term discounting to long-term brand building and consumer segmentation insights that highlighted a need for premium hamburger innovation after zero launches in 2025.
3. U.S. Operational Metrics and Shareholder Returns
U.S. company-operated restaurants outperformed the broader system by 310 basis points in 2025, supporting the people activation playbook now scaling to franchisees, while Wendy’s returned $330 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, up over $48 million year-over-year.
4. International Expansion
International markets delivered the 21st consecutive quarter of growth with record net additions of 121 units across 38 markets in Q4, driving a 6.2% increase in system-wide international sales and underscoring global growth potential.