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On March 3rd, the Wendy's Company (WEN) reported on results for the fourth quarter and FY 2020 ending January 3, 2021. For the quarter, the company earned $38.7 million on total revenue of $474.31 million with a diluted EPS of $0.17.  For Q4 of FY 2019, comparable figures were net income of $26.5 million on total revenue of $427.19 million with an EPS of $0.11.

For fiscal 2020, the company earned $117.8 million on revenue of $1.73 billion with an EPS of $0.52.  In FY 2019, income was $136.9 million on total revenue of $1.71 billion with an EPS of $0.58.

Growth in same-restaurant sales for Q4 compared to the corresponding quarter in fiscal 2019 was 5.5 percent for the U.S.  International fell by 2.3 percent with a global average of 4.7 percent. For fiscal 2021, the Wendy's Company expects global system wide sales to grow six to eight percent with adjusted EPS of $0.67-$0.69 with capital expenditure of $80-$90 million.

In commenting on Q4 and FY 2020 results, Todd Penegor, president and CEO stated, "we accomplished a lot in 2020 including securing our position as the number two QSR hamburger restaurant chain in the U.S. and more than doubling our digital sales".  He added, "we remain confident in our playbook of investing smartly to drive accelerated growth behind our major long-term growth pillars; significantly building our breakfast daypart, accelerating our digital business and expanding our footprint both internationally and in the U.S."

On January 3rd 2021, the Wendy's Company posted total assets of $5.04 billion of which $1.98 billion comprised intangibles and goodwill.  The company carries $3.14 billion in long-term debt, lease and finance liabilities.

The Wendy's Company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion and has traded over the past fifty-two weeks in a range of $6.82 to $24.91 with a 50-day moving average of $20.84.  On a trailing twelve-month basis, operating margin was 18.5 percent, profit margin 7.8 percent.  The company generated a return on assets of 3.1 percent and 18.0 percent on equity. 

Wendy's narrowly missed the consensus EPS estimate of $0.18 per share and missed Zachs’ consensus estimate on revenue by one percent.  Wendy's has underperformed the S&P in 2021 having lost 2.8 percent compared to a gain of three percent for the S&P Index.  WEN closed at $21.33 on Tuesday, March 2nd before the release, fell sharply at the Wednesday opening and closed on Wednesday, March 3rd at $20.12 down 5.5 percent.