Wingstop reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 system-wide sales of $1.377 billion, up 5.9% from $1.300 billion a year earlier, as restaurant count expanded to 3,153 from 2,689, a 17% increase.
The company opened 97 net new restaurants in the quarter, lifting domestic franchised locations to 2,596 from 2,250 and international franchised units to 500 from 388.
Revenue rose 7.4% to $183.7 million from $171.1 million. Royalty revenue, franchise fees and other increased by $8.7 million, with $12.2 million of that tied to net new franchise development and $3.4 million from higher vendor rebates, partially offset by a $5.9 million drop linked to an 8.7% decline in domestic same-store sales.
Domestic same-store sales fell 8.7%, reversing a 0.5% increase in the prior-year quarter. Domestic average unit volume slipped to $1.956 million from $2.135 million. Company-owned domestic same-store sales declined 2.2%, compared with a 1.4% increase a year earlier.
Digital sales accounted for 72.5% of system-wide sales.
Net income dropped to $29.9 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, from $92.3 million, or $3.03 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter. The prior-year period included a $97.2 million gain on the sale of Wingstop’s non-controlling interest in its U.K. master franchisee.
Adjusted net income increased to $32.5 million from $28.3 million, and adjusted earnings per diluted share rose to $1.18 from $0.96. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 9.9% to $65.4 million from $59.5 million.
Cost of sales increased to $24.7 million from $22.8 million, but fell to 74.9% of company-owned restaurant sales from 76.0% a year earlier. SG&A rose to $34.4 million from $31.4 million, driven by $2.4 million in restructuring charges.
Income tax expense was $10.7 million, with an effective tax rate of 26.3%, versus 25.1% in the prior-year quarter.
Wingstop also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share, totaling about $8.2 million, and repurchased 374,324 shares at an average price of $208.08 during the quarter. Since the program began in August 2023, the company has repurchased 2,959,473 shares at an average price of $252.25. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved 1.41%, and are now trading at a price of $189.37. Check out the company's full 8-K submission here.
