While Wendy’s holds second place behind McDonald’s, at least in the fast-food burger battle in the United States, the chain has struggled mightily in recent years.
Sales were down in the chain’s domestic market, something CFO Suzanne Thuerk tried to explain during Wendy’s fourth-quarter earnings call.
“In the fourth quarter, global system-wide sales were down 8.3% on a constant currency basis, and US same-restaurant sales were down 11.3%, driven by significantly lower marketing spend, in addition to tough competition with our SpongeBob partnership in the prior year,” she said.
Wendy’s, she noted, simply had fewer customers.
“The decline in US same-restaurant sales was driven by lower traffic, partially offset by a higher average check,” she added.
In the fast-food industry, an 11.3% drop in same-store sales is considered serious and signals more than a drop in routine traffic. Established chains typically see same-store sales fluctuate in the low single digits, even during tough times.
A double-digit decline indicates a significant loss of customer visits that pricing or promotions cannot easily offset, often forcing operators to rethink store footprints, hours of operation and strategies to protect franchisees’ profitability.
The company plans to close 5 percent to 6 percent of the 5,831 U.S. restaurants listed on its website, or about 292 to 350 underperforming units, Interim CEO Ken Cook said on the call, a move analysts said reflects broader challenges in U.S. same-store sales and competitive pressure, according to MarketWatch.
For a mature fast-food chain like Wendy’s, sustained double-digit same-store declines leave few strategic options. When traffic erosion persists, closing underperforming locations becomes less about retirement and more about preserving franchisee economics and stabilizing the broader system.
Wendy’s also plans to scale back its breakfast initiative.
Wendy’s Breakfast was launched in 2020, just as the entire country was being forced into lockdown due to the Covid pandemic. The chain had ads and promotional partners, including ESPN, claiming its morning meals at a time when many dining halls were closed and people were practicing social distancing.
Wendy’s Co. launched the system-wide breakfast on March 2 and slammed head first into the Covid pandemic, which the World Health Organization declared on March 11.
Part of the fast food breakfast model depends on people driving to work and either stopping for a quick meal or driving through. It was something fewer people did during the pandemic lockdown.
Despite that, the former Wendy’s marketing director said early results have been good, according to observations reported by Nation’s Restaurant News.
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“Here we are less than a year into the business and we’re matching competitors that have been in the market for 50 years, literally going from nobody’s breakfast to somebody’s breakfast,” Loredo said.
This is a slim dig at McDonald’s, which has long been the leader in fast food breakfast.
Now the chain has admitted that breakfast hasn’t quite worked and plans to scale back.
Wendy entered the breakfast space for good reason.
“Prior to the pandemic, breakfast was the only meal that was drawing a growing number of customers to fast-food chains. Lunch and dinner traffic was declining as consumers chose healthier options or cooked their meals at home. For Wendy’s, entering breakfast would allow the burger chain to attract new sales without cannibalizing its lunch, snack or dinner traffic,” CNBC reported.
Now, six years later, the company has admitted that some locations have struggled with breakfast.
Cook made it clear that Wendy’s decided to scale back breakfast, not ditch it.
“Breakfast remains an important day for the system. The vast majority of the system will remain at breakfast. We’re not backing down. We’re working with franchisees right now to finalize those exact numbers and we’ll share updates as we go,” he told Guggenheim Securities analyst Gregory Frankfurt during the Q4 earnings call.
Wendy’s plans to reduce its breakfast offerings. Shutterstock ·Shutterstock
Cook made it clear that the chain will approach breakfast restaurant by restaurant.
“We’re also working with franchisees to better align hours of operation with demand, particularly for mornings. While many restaurants do well at breakfast, we recognize that it may not work in every restaurant as certain markets have customer dynamics that don’t support a thriving breakfast business,” he said.
The interim CEO considers the changes to be tilted in the day ranges that work for each location.
“To strengthen franchisees’ profitability, we offer more flexibility in their morning hours of operation, allowing them to reallocate resources to the highest growth potential during the day, evening and late night,” he said.
In some cases, that will mean some locations will drop breakfast, while others will reduce their morning hours.
“This positions Morning to operate where it matters most, delivering greater customer value while supporting franchisees’ profitability, and we continue to believe that breakfast is an important part of the day for the American system,” added Cook.
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Revenue from fast food and quick service restaurants (QSR).: The US industry was valued at approx $254.11 billion in 2024 with continued moderate growth, Grand View Research reported.
Breakfast and Dining Restaurants in the USA (includes many breakfast-oriented and quick-service breakfast places): Industry revenues were $15.6 billion in 2025according to IBIS World.
The US breakfast market (which includes on-the-go fast food breakfast meals, QSR items, coffee and sandwiches): Estimated to be approximately $38.8 billion in 2025growing towards $73.2 billion by 2035shared Future Market Insights.
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This story was originally published by TheStreet on February 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a favorite source by clicking here.
