Wendy’s stock falls toward a 3-month low after earnings miss, downbeat outlook

Shares of Wendy’s Co.
WEN,
+0.84%
slumped 2% toward a three-month low in premarket trading Thursday, after the fast-food burger chain reported fourth-quarter profit and revenue that missed expectations, and provided a 2024 outlook that was below Wall Street forecasts. Net income rose to $46.9 million, or 23 cents a share, from $41.3 million, or 19 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share slipped to 21 cents from 22 cents, due to higher amortization of cloud computing arrangement costs and a higher tax rate, and missed the FactSet consensus of 23 cents. Revenue grew 0.8% to $540.65 million, amid higher advertising funds revenue and an increase in royalty revenue, but was below the FactSet consensus of $546.8 million. Same-restaurant sales, or sales of restaurants open at least a year, increased 3.2% to beat expectations of 2.5% growth. For 2024, the company expects adjusted EPS of 98 cents to $1.02, which is below the FactSet consensus of $1.11. The stock has tacked on 1.4% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.96%
has gained 11.1%.