Topline
Wendy’s shares rallied on Wednesday following a recent Reddit-fueled meme-stock frenzy, including a post calling to “save” the fast-food chain, as its stock has lost nearly half its value over the last 12 months.
Social media users alerted investors: “We need to save Wendy’s.”
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Key Facts
Shares of Wendy’s skyrocketed 37% to around $8.50 shortly after trading opened on Wednesday, pacing what would be the largest intraday gain for the stock since at least June 2021 (up 25.8%).
Trading in the fast-food chain accelerated earlier this week, with stock purchases hitting $2.2 million, up from $109,600 for all of last week, according to Vanda Research.
Enthusiasm surrounding Wendy’s stock comes as dozens of posts on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets forum—which heralded the GameStop and AMC meme stock frenzy years earlier—pushed demand for shares, including one post declaring, “We need to save Wendy’s,” and other users arguing Wendy’s shares were more viable than SpaceX, with one declaring Wendy’s price-to-earnings ratio (8.1) was much larger than the rocket maker’s (-53.6).
The surge also follows Wendy’s appointment of Steve Cirulis, who served as Potbelly’s chief financial officer and chief strategy officer, to the same roles.$1.5 billion.
big number
$1.5 billion. That’s Wendy’s market value as of Wednesday, down 72% from its all-time high of $5.4 billion in October 2020. Most of the decline has occurred since Nov. 1, 2024, after which shares have dropped by more than 61%.
key background
Wendy’s business has slowed in recent years, and the fast-food chain warned last year its sales could be negative or fall flat as similar chains faced weakening demand. Earlier this year, it warned profit margins were impacted by swelling inflation in the U.S., which recently hit a three-year high, as global sales through Q4 2025 dropped 8.3%. Ken Cook, who served as interim CFO, said the company planned to close up to 6% of its roughly 6,000 U.S. locations as Wendy’s worked to turn around performance. Wendy’s said in November it would close restaurants as lower-income consumers pulled back on dining out, forecasting a decline in sales as it anticipated a decrease in traffic.