Wingstop Inc. WING

Consumer DiscretionaryHotels & Entertainment ServicesUnited States of America

Last close 149.73 USD on Nov 1, 2026, −36.8% year to date

Quant rating

Quant rating C Rank 180 of 344 in Consumer Discretionary

Growth B 61 of 344
Valuation D 253 of 344
Quality B 101 of 344
Revisions D 260 of 344
Momentum C 151 of 344

Wall Street consensus Buy (1.79)Average target 185.21 USD +23.7%

Historical valuation

Multiples use consensus estimates for the next twelve months. The dashed line is the 5-year average.

Key data

Market cap: 4.1B
Enterprise value: 5.2B
52-week range: 95.95 – 302.35
3-year range: 95.95 – 428.85
Dividend yield: 0.88%
Beta (5 years): 1.77
Shares outstanding: 27.1M
Next earnings: Feb 18, 2027

About the company

Wingstop Inc. is a fast casual chicken wings-focused restaurant chain in the world, with more than 2,550 locations worldwide. The Company is in the business of franchising and operating Wingstop restaurants. The Company is primarily a franchisor, with approximately 98% of its restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees. The Company offers classic wings, boneless wings, tenders, and chicken sandwiches, always cooked to order, and hand-sauced-and-tossed in 12 bold, distinctive flavors. It also complements its wings, tenders, and chicken sandwiches with fresh-cut, seasoned fries and fresh, hand-cut carrots and celery. It offers various order options, including dine-in / carryout / delivery; individual / combo meals / family packs. Its menu also features signature sides, including fresh-cut, seasoned fries and freshly made ranch and bleu cheese dips. The Company operates approximately a total of 2,513 restaurants in 45 states and 12 countries and United States territories.

Growth and profitability fiscal year ends December 31

Growth and profitability by fiscal year
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	5Y avg
Revenue (mil)	697	626	460	358	283	–
Revenue growth	11.4%	36.0%	28.7%	26.6%	13.5%	22.9%
EPS (basic, normalized)	4.08	3.68	2.48	1.85	1.35	–
EPS growth	10.9%	48.4%	34.1%	37.0%	–	–
Gross margin	87.2%	86.4%	85.7%	82.3%	79.7%	84.3%
Net margin	25.0%	17.4%	15.3%	14.8%	15.1%	17.5%
ROE	–	–	–	–	–	–

Balance sheet, last quarter
Cash & short-term investments (mil)	105
Current ratio	2.12x
Long-term debt (mil)	1,211
Net debt (mil)	1,107
Total equity (mil)	−773
Net debt / equity	−1.43x
Net debt / EBITDA	4.53x

Estimates and valuation

Consensus estimates and implied multiples
	Sales (mil)			EBITDA (mil)			EPS
Fiscal year	Mean est.	Growth	EV/Sales	Mean est.	Growth	EV/EBITDA	Mean est.	Growth	P/E
2025 actual	697	+11.4%	7.4x	244	+20.2%	21.1x	4.08	+10.9%	36.7x
2026	748	+7.4%	6.9x	249	+2.1%	20.7x	4.16	+2.0%	36.0x
2027	858	+14.6%	6.0x	290	+16.3%	17.8x	5.01	+20.5%	29.9x
2028	981	+14.4%	5.3x	337	+16.2%	15.3x	6.49	+29.5%	23.1x

Estimate revisions

Change in consensus estimates over 1, 3 and 6 months
	Sales				EPS
Fiscal year	Estimate (mil)	1M	3M	6M	Estimate	1M	3M	6M
2026	748	−2.2%	−2.5%	−4.2%	4.16	−5.9%	−6.9%	−9.4%
2027	858	−3.2%	−3.6%	−4.9%	5.01	−6.5%	−7.0%	−10.9%
2028	981	−2.4%	−2.9%	−4.6%	6.49	−3.1%	−2.9%	−7.3%

Earnings surprises EPS beat in 4 of the last 4 quarters

Reported results versus consensus, last 10 fiscal quarters
Quarter ended	Mar 2024	Jun 2024	Sep 2024	Dec 2024	Mar 2025	Jun 2025	Sep 2025	Dec 2025	Mar 2026	Jun 2026
Sales reported (mil)	146	156	162	162	171	174	176	176	184	186
Sales mean (mil)	136	144	162	164	171	173	186	178	189	190
Surprise	+7.5%	+8.1%	+0.5%	−1.6%	+0.1%	+0.6%	−5.5%	−1.0%	−2.8%	−2.6%
EPS reported	0.98	0.93	0.88	0.90	0.99	1.00	1.09	1.00	1.18	1.18
EPS mean	0.76	0.82	0.95	0.86	0.86	0.87	0.93	0.84	1.03	1.03
Surprise	+29.3%	+13.5%	−7.8%	+4.3%	+14.8%	+15.4%	+17.4%	+19.5%	+14.5%	+14.4%

Peer comparison Hotels & Entertainment Services

Peers in the same industry group, by market capitalization
Company	Market cap	Net debt/EBITDA	Net margin	P/B	FY1 P/E	FY2 P/E	FY1 EV/EBITDA	FY2 EV/EBITDA
WING Wingstop Inc.	4.1B	4.53x	25.0%	−5.24x	36.0x	29.9x	20.7x	17.8x
MCD McDonald's Corp	182.7B	2.63x	31.9%	−178.54x	20.1x	18.8x	14.2x	13.6x
SBUX Starbucks Corp	118.2B	1.58x	5.0%	−15.40x	32.6x	27.8x	19.2x	17.2x
YUM Yum! Brands, Inc.	42.4B	4.01x	19.0%	−5.97x	24.2x	22.2x	18.2x	17.3x
CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.	40.3B	−0.39x	12.9%	16.43x	29.0x	24.0x	17.6x	15.2x
QSR Restaurant Brands International Inc.	25.2B	4.76x	9.6%	8.29x	17.8x	16.4x	12.6x	11.8x
Mean		2.86x	17.2%	−30.07x	26.6x	23.2x	17.1x	15.5x
Median		3.32x	15.9%	−5.61x	26.6x	23.1x	17.9x	16.2x

Technical analysis

1M+47.1%
3M+11.3%
1Y−39.0%
3Y−14.7%

Financial statements in millions of USD

Income statement in millions of USD, fiscal years

Income statement, Wingstop Inc., fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Total revenue	697	626	460	358	283	249
Cost of revenue	88.9	85.3	65.7	63.4	57.4	48.6
Gross profit	608	540	394	294	225	200
Selling, general & administrative expenses	390	354	263	189	147	138
Research & development	–	–	–	–	–	–
Depreciation/amortization	25.1	19.5	13.2	10.9	7.9	7.5
Interest expense (income), operating	–	–	–	–	–	–
Unusual expense (income)	12.9	1.0	5.2	2.9	−3.5	10.6
Other operating expenses	0.9	0	0	0	0	0
Operating income	179	166	113	91.1	73.8	43.7
Net interest income (expense)	−35.8	−21.3	−18.2	−21.2	−15.0	−16.8
Gain (loss) on sale of assets	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other non-operating income (expense)	93.7	2.9	−0.1	−0.6	0.1	0
Net income before taxes	237	147	94.3	69.3	58.9	26.9
Provision for taxes	62.9	38.5	24.1	16.4	16.2	3.6
Minority interest	–	–	–	–	–	–
Equity in affiliates	–	–	–	–	–	–
U.S. GAAP adjustment	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net income before extraordinary items	174	109	70.2	52.9	42.7	23.3
Extraordinary items	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net income	174	109	70.2	52.9	42.7	23.3
EBIT, normalized	192	167	118	94.0	70.3	54.3
EBITDA, normalized	217	186	131	105	78.2	61.8
Basic EPS, normalized	4.08	3.68	2.48	1.85	1.35	–

Balance sheet in millions of USD, fiscal years

Balance sheet, Wingstop Inc., fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Assets
Cash & short-term investments	197	316	90.2	184	48.6	40.9
Receivables	20.8	19.7	12.4	9.5	8.1	8.5
Total inventory	–	–	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.4
Prepaid expenses	8.0	6.5	3.6	2.7	2.5	1.5
Other current assets	42.1	53.5	37.6	29.6	10.4	21.3
Total current assets	267	396	144	227	70.1	72.6
Property, plant & equipment	179	175	110	82.5	69.5	34.2
Goodwill	83.9	74.7	67.7	62.5	56.9	53.7
Intangibles	62.7	60.1	54.6	50.8	50.4	44.3
Long-term investments	87.2	–	–	–	–	–
Note receivable	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other long-term assets	13.0	10.9	0.8	1.8	2.2	6.7
Total assets	693	716	378	424	249	212
Liabilities
Accounts payable	12.8	6.9	4.7	5.2	5.4	3.7
Payable/accrued	–	–	–	–	–	–
Accrued expenses	46.0	41.9	33.2	23.8	24.4	23.5
Short-term debt	0	0	0	0	0	0
Current portion of long-term debt	–	–	0	7.3	0	3.6
Other current liabilities	23.1	38.6	33.1	26.0	9.9	19.7
Total current liabilities	82.0	87.4	71.0	62.4	39.7	50.5
Long-term debt	1,209	1,206	712	707	469	467
Minority interest	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other liabilities	139	98.2	51.9	45.8	49.7	35.5
Total liabilities	1,430	1,392	835	815	559	553
Shareholders' equity
Preferred stock	–	–	–	–	–	–
Common stock	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Additional paid-in capital	1.5	1.6	2.7	2.8	0.5	0.4
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)	−745	−677	−460	−393	−310	−342
Treasury stock	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other equity	6.3	−0.5	−0.3	−0.6	−0.3	0
Total equity	−737	−676	−457	−391	−310	−341
Total liabilities & shareholders' equity	693	716	378	424	249	212

Cash flow statement in millions of USD, fiscal years

Cash flow statement, Wingstop Inc., fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Operating activities
Net income	174	109	70.2	52.9	42.7	23.3
Depreciation, depletion & amortization	25.1	19.5	13.2	10.9	7.9	7.5
Deferred taxes	35.9	−1.8	−1.6	−3.3	3.0	0
Non-cash items	−66.7	23.2	17.7	8.1	7.5	20.7
Changes in working capital	−15.4	8.0	22.0	7.5	−12.2	14.0
Cash from operations	153	158	122	76.2	48.9	65.5
Investing activities
Capital expenditures	−47.4	−51.9	−40.8	−23.9	−28.0	−6.1
Other investing cash flows	30.0	−10.5	−11.3	−4.7	−1.8	−1.9
Cash from investing	−17.5	−62.5	−52.2	−28.7	−29.9	−8.0
Financing activities
Financing cash flow items	−13.9	−13.3	−2.5	−5.8	−1.9	−19.0
Cash dividends paid	−32.4	−28.9	−24.9	−141	−19.8	−164
Issuance (retirement) of debt, net	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other financing cash flows	−220	187	−128	250	−1.7	163
Cash from financing	−267	145	−155	103	−23.4	−19.4
Foreign exchange effects	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net change in cash	−131	240	−86.0	151	−4.4	38.1
Free cash flow	106	106	80.8	52.3	20.9	59.5

Disclaimer

The financial data presented in this report is delayed and obtained from sources QDD Research believes to be reliable, including stock exchanges, SEDAR, and EDGAR. However, no representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information. QDD Research accepts no liability for any errors, omissions, or financial losses arising from the use of this data.

This report is generated using a fully systematic and quantitative approach. All factor scores and the overall quant rating (ranging from D to A+) are derived from algorithmic models and are based solely on objective financial metrics. These scores are intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any securities.

QDD Research is not a registered investment advisor or broker-dealer and does not provide personalized financial advice. The content is not tailored to the specific investment goals, financial situation, or risk profile of any individual investor. We strongly encourage readers to consult with a licensed broker or investment advisor before making any investment decisions based on the information contained in this report.

Live quote provided by TradingView. Report data updated Nov 1, 2026 after market close.