Wendy’s is closing hundreds of U.S. restaurants as domestic sales slide

Wendy’s is moving ahead with its plans to close hundreds of restaurants, amounting to between 5 and 6% of its total stores in the U.S., according to its fourth quarter earnings report. 

The report, published on February 13, showed that Wendy’s business in the U.S. is currently lagging behind its international efforts. Total same-store sales fell 10.1% over the quarter, driven by performance in the U.S., where same-stores sales were down 11.3% compared to 2% at international locations. Overall, global systemwide sales were $3.4 billion, a decrease of 8.3% from the previous quarter.

According to Wendy’s interim CEO Ken Cook, one way the company is addressing this trend is through ongoing “system optimization,” which includes the closure of “consistently underperforming restaurants” to allow franchisee partners to focus on more profitable locations.

Shares in Wendy’s Co. (Nasdaq: WEN) jumped about 5% in early Friday trading, but the company’s stock prices overall are nearing lows that haven’t been seen since 2013. 

Wendy’s closure updates

Wendy’s first announced plans to shutter several hundred U.S. stores in November 2025. At the time, Cook told investors that some current restaurants “do not elevate the brand” and are “a drag from a franchisee financial performance perspective.” Based on today’s update, some of those closures have already taken place: Cook shared that 28 restaurants closed during the fourth quarter of 2025. 

In total, he added, the company expects to close 5% to 6% of its total U.S. restaurants, with all remaining closures slated for the first half of 2026. Given that Wendy’s operated about 6,000 U.S. before any of the closures, that means that it plans to shutter between 300 and 360 locations. Cook said that the closures were decided in partnership with franchisees, who were allowed to flag the restaurants they were interested in to the company.

“We established a disciplined process with our franchisees to approach this restaurant-by-restaurant, working with them to make the best decisions that strengthen the system in the long term,” Cook said, adding, “Obviously, it takes time to work with landlords and achieve what will be a win-win for both the franchisees and the Wendy’s company for those sites that we’re in, so that’ll take a little bit longer to see the rental income impact versus the closures.”

Wendy’s did not immediately respond to Fast Company’s request for more information on the specific numbers and locations of the closures.