WENWendy's Co

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places

Revenue: $2.2B; 3.1% YoY
Operating margin: 15.8%; 4.6% YoY
EBITDA: $496M; 3.7% YoY
Market cap: $1.4B
Employees: 14,900; $146K revenue each
Net debt / EBITDA: 4.9×; $2.4B net debt
AI in 10-K: 0.9; mentions per 10K words

Takeover score 1 of 13

Fixable underperformance 0 of 7

TSR below peersNo
—
3+ of last 5 years
High CEO pay despite TSRNo
—
Median CEO pay ≥ $15M while TSR trails
Earnings not backed by cashNo
209% of net income
Cash flow under 80% of net income
Dilutive SBCNo
1% of revenue
Over 10% of revenue
Payouts exceed cash flowNo
96% of cash flow
Buybacks + dividends over cash flow
Goodwill-heavyNo
16% of assets
Over 40% of assets
Shareholder dissentNo
94% lowest support
Any vote under 80% support

Buyer economics 1 of 4

Low revenue per employeeNo
$146K · 78th pct
Bottom quartile of its SIC industry
Quiet on AINo
0.9 per 10K words · 33rd pct
Bottom quartile of AI mentions in 10-Ks
Net cashNo
4.9× EBITDA net debt
More cash than debt, positive EBITDA
Buyout-sizedYes
$1.4B market cap
Market cap $500M–$5B

Catalysts 0 of 2

Active 13DNo
0 filings
Active-intent 13D in 18 months
Net insider sellingNo
$18K net
Net sales over $10M in 12 months

Financials

Metric	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	YoY	Trend
Revenue	$1.7B	$1.9B	$2.2B	$2.2B	$2.2B	3.1%
Operating income	$269M	$367M	$382M	$371M	$343M	7.5%
Net income	$118M	$200M	$204M	$194M	$165M	15%
Operating cash flow	$284M	$346M	$345M	$355M	$345M	3.0%
Capex	$69M	$78M	$85M	$94M	$102M	8.0%
Stock-based comp	$19M	$22M	$24M	$23M	$15M	37%
Buybacks	$62M	$269M	$190M	$77M	$201M	159%
Dividends	$65M	$95M	$209M	$204M	$130M	37%

Deal filings

None.

13D filers

Filed	Filer	Form	Stake	Intent
Oct 28, 2026	TRIAN FUND MANAGEMENT, L.P.	SCHEDULE 13D/A	16.2%	Passive
Feb 18, 2026	TRIAN FUND MANAGEMENT, L.P.	SCHEDULE 13D/A	16.3%	Passive
Jul 8, 2025	TRIAN FUND MANAGEMENT, L.P.	SCHEDULE 13D/A	16.2%	Passive
Sep 6, 2024	TRIAN FUND MANAGEMENT, L.P.	SC 13D/A	0.2%	Passive
Aug 9, 2024	TRIAN FUND MANAGEMENT, L.P.	SC 13D/A	7.3%	Passive
Aug 23, 2023	TRIAN FUND MANAGEMENT, L.P.	SC 13D/A	16.1%	Passive
Jun 2, 2023	TRIAN FUND MANAGEMENT, L.P.	SC 13D/A	17.4%	Passive
Mar 3, 2023	TRIAN FUND MANAGEMENT, L.P.	SC 13D/A	3.6%	Passive
Jan 13, 2023	TRIAN FUND MANAGEMENT, L.P.	SC 13D/A	19.5%	Active
May 24, 2022	TRIAN FUND MANAGEMENT, L.P.	SC 13D/A	19.4%	Passive

Insider trading

Open-market buys, 12 mo: $18K · 2
Open-market sells, 12 mo: $0 · 0
Net: $18K

Pay vs performance

No pay-versus-performance disclosure yet.