Wendy’s plans to close 300-360 U.S. restaurants after sales plunge

Wendy’s announced plans to shutter 5%–6% of its U.S. restaurants by mid-2026 as part of a turnaround effort prompted by a steep sales decline, a move that converts to approximately 298 to 358 locations based on the company’s year-end 2025 U.S. store count of 5,969 reported by AP/ABC. Interim CEO Ken Cook said the company is working with franchisees on a store-by-store review to “make collaborative decisions to optimize performance across the U.S. system,” a process sources say will unfold in the first half of 2026.

The closures follow a sharp deterioration in sales: Wendy’s reported U.S. same-restaurant sales fell 11.3% in the fourth quarter and global same-store sales dropped 10% in the quarter, per company disclosures cited by multiple outlets. Wendy’s fourth-quarter revenue fell 5.5% to $543 million, versus analyst expectations near $537 million, and the company said systemwide sales fell 3.5% last year while it expects global systemwide sales to be flat this year.

Wendy’s has already moved on some of the cuts. Axios reported the company closed 28 restaurants in Q4, and New York Post named several locations that have already shut, West Lafayette, Indiana; Stockton, California; and Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Yahoo Finance reported the chain quietly began cutting outdated units after a November 2025 announcement and that closures have outpaced new openings since then, bringing the U.S. footprint down to roughly 6,000 stores.

The chain is pairing the closures with a renewed emphasis on value and operational reshaping. Company materials and reporting cite value offers such as Biggie Deals as central to the plan, and Yahoo Finance identified an initiative called Project Fresh that it said aims to close underperforming restaurants while investing in remaining locations with new menu items and store updates. On the company earnings call, Cook acknowledged a pricing misstep: “One learning from 2025 around value, we swung the pendulum too far towards limited-time price promotions instead of everyday value.”

Operational flexibility for franchisees is part of the playbook. Axios reported Cook said Wendy’s “may allow franchisees to stop offering breakfast because ‘we recognize it may not work in every restaurant,’” signaling that menu and service footprints could be adjusted location by location. A company statement quoted in the New York Post framed closures as a tool to concentrate investment: “By closing consistently underperforming restaurants, we’re enabling our franchisee partners to increase focus on locations with the greatest potential for profitable growth.”

Analysts and industry observers framed the decision against a competitive backdrop where rivals have leaned into value promotions. Axios noted McDonald’s same-store U.S. sales rose 6.8% amid $5 and $8 meal promotions and high-profile campaigns such as Monopoly and the Grinch meal. Restaurant Business Magazine editor-in-chief Jonathan Maze was quoted characterizing Wendy’s Q4 U.S. performance as the chain’s worst since at least 2007.

Reporting outlets differ slightly on the unit count in headlines: Yahoo’s coverage used rounded figures of roughly 300 to 350 closures while New York Post cited about 240 to 360 locations. Using the AP/ABC year-end U.S. location total of 5,969 yields the 298–358 unit range that aligns with the company’s 5%–6% guidance. Wendy’s shares rose nearly 5% in mid-day trading after the announcement, according to AP/ABC.

Franchisees, employees, and investors will be watching upcoming filings and the full earnings-call transcript for details on which restaurants will close, the timeline for Project Fresh investments, and any employee transfer or severance arrangements discussed by the company.