WING

EX-99.1

2 a991wingearningsrelease.htm

EX-99.1

Document

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wingstop Inc. Reports Fiscal First Quarter Financial Results

97 Net New Openings in First Quarter, 17% Unit Growth

Dallas, April 29, 2026 - (PRNewswire) - Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING) today announced financial results for the fiscal first quarter ended March 28, 2026.

“Despite the decline in same store sales, we delivered system-wide sales growth and double-digit Adjusted EBITDA growth in the quarter supported by 17% unit growth. Our results demonstrate the resiliency of our asset-light, highly franchised model.” said Michael Skipworth, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our focus in the first quarter centered upon enhancing unit economics for our brand partners and advancing our strategies that we believe will position us to return to same store sales growth. We believe 2026 is going to be a transformational year for Wingstop and remain extremely confident in the long-term opportunity in front of us as we continue to scale into a top 10 global restaurant brand.”

Q1 2026 Highlights

▪System-wide sales of $1.4 billion increased 5.9% vs. Q1 2025

▪97 net new openings

▪Domestic restaurant AUV of $2.0 million

▪Domestic same store sales decreased 8.7% vs. Q1 2025

▪Digital sales represented 72.5% of system-wide sales

▪Total revenue of $183.7 million, an increase of 7.4%, vs. Q1 2025

▪Net income of $29.9 million, or $1.08 per diluted share

▪Adjusted net income1 of $32.5 million and adjusted earnings per diluted share1 of $1.18

▪Adjusted EBITDA1, increased 9.9% vs. Q1 2025 to $65.4 million

1See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures“ and the reconciliation tables accompanying this release for a discussion and reconciliation of certain non-GAAP financial measures included in this release.

1

Key Operating Metrics

Thirteen Weeks Ended

March 28, 2026March 29, 2025

Number of system-wide restaurants open at end of period3,153 2,689

Number of domestic franchise restaurants open at end of period2,596 2,250

Number of international franchise restaurants open at end of period (1) 500 388

System-wide sales (in millions)$1,377 $1,300

Domestic AUV (in thousands)$1,956 $2,135

Domestic same store sales growth(8.7)%0.5 %

Company-owned domestic same store sales growth(2.2)%1.4 %

Net income (in thousands)$29,883 $92,265

Adjusted net income (in thousands)$32,469 $28,316

Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands) $65,403 $59,497

(1) Including U.S. territories.

Q1 2026 Financial Results

Total revenue for the first quarter 2026 increased to $183.7 million from $171.1 million in the prior first quarter. Royalty revenue, franchise fees and other increased $8.7 million, of which $12.2 million was due to net new franchise development and $3.4 million related to an increase in vendor rebates, partially offset by a decrease of $5.9 million due to an 8.7% decline in domestic same store sales contributed by lower transaction volumes, reflecting continued pressure on consumer spending. Advertising fees increased $1.0 million due to a 5.9% increase in system-wide sales in the first quarter 2026. Company-owned restaurant sales increased $2.9 million due to the six additional corporate stores opened or acquired since the prior year period.

Cost of sales was $24.7 million compared to $22.8 million in the prior first quarter. As a percentage of company-owned restaurant sales, cost of sales decreased to 74.9% from 76.0% in the prior first quarter. The decrease as a percentage of company-owned restaurant sales was primarily driven by a decline in food, beverage and packaging costs, reflecting a decrease in the cost of bone-in chicken wings as compared to the prior first quarter.

Selling, general & administrative (“SG&A”) expense increased $3.0 million to $34.4 million from $31.4 million in the prior first quarter. The increase in SG&A expense was primarily driven by $2.4 million in restructuring charges related to the corporate realignment announced during the fiscal first quarter 2026, partially offset by lower system implementation costs and other expenses compared to the prior year period.

The prior fiscal first quarter included investment income of $93.8 million in the prior fiscal first quarter. This was related to the $97.2 million gain on the sale of our non-controlling interest in Lemon Pepper Holdings, Ltd. (“LPH”), Wingstop’s United Kingdom master franchisee, recognized in the prior year period.

Income tax expense was $10.7 million, yielding an effective tax rate of 26.3%, comparable to 25.1% in the prior fiscal first quarter. The decrease in total tax expense is primarily due to the absence of the prior year taxable gain on the sale of our non-controlling interest in LPH.

2

Financial Outlook

The Company’s outlook is dependent on the macro-environment which is inherently difficult to predict given current high levels of uncertainty. The Company is providing updated guidance for 2026:

•Low-single digit decline in domestic same store sales gro

wing-202602170001636222FALSE00016362222026-02-172026-02-17

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 17, 2026

WINGSTOP INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware001-3742547-3494862 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)Commission File Number(IRS Employer Identification No.)

2801 N Central Expressway Suite 1600

Dallas, Texas 75204 (Address of principal executive offices)(Zip Code)

(972) 686-6500 (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) N/A (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below): ☐Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) ☐Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) ☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) ☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registered Common Stock, par value $0.01 per shareWINGNASDAQ Global Select Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 2.02.Results of Operations and Financial Condition

The following information is furnished pursuant to Item 2.02, “Results of Operations and Financial Condition.” Consequently, it shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall such information be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing. On February 18, 2026, Wingstop Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) issued a press release reporting the Company’s financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended December 27, 2025. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The press release uses the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) measures of net income and earnings per diluted share and the following non-GAAP financial measures: EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income and Adjusted earnings per diluted share. A discussion of these non-GAAP financial measures, including a discussion of the usefulness and purpose of each measure, is included below. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are supplemental measures of our performance that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measurements of our financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to net income or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP, or as alternatives to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity. We define “EBITDA” as net income before interest expense, net, income tax expense (benefit), and depreciation and amortization. We define “Adjusted EBITDA” as EBITDA further adjusted for losses on debt extinguishment and financing transactions, transaction costs, costs and fees associated with investments in our strategic initiatives, gains and losses on non-recurring transactions, certain system implementation costs, and stock-based compensation expense. We present EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA because we consider them to be important supplemental measures of our performance and believe they are frequently used by securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry. Management believes that investors’ understanding of our performance is enhanced by including these non-GAAP financial measures as a reasonable basis for comparing our ongoing results of operations. Many investors are interested in understanding the performance of our business by comparing our results from ongoing operations on a period-over-period basis and would ordinarily add b

wing-202511030001636222FALSE00016362222025-11-032025-11-03

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 3, 2025

WINGSTOP INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware001-3742547-3494862 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)Commission File Number(IRS Employer Identification No.)

2801 N Central Expressway Suite 1600

Dallas, Texas 75204 (Address of principal executive offices)(Zip Code)

(972) 686-6500 (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) N/A (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below): ☐Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) ☐Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) ☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) ☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registered Common Stock, par value $0.01 per shareWINGNASDAQ Global Select Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 2.02.Results of Operations and Financial Condition

The following information is furnished pursuant to Item 2.02, “Results of Operations and Financial Condition.” Consequently, it shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall such information be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing. On November 4, 2025, Wingstop Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) issued a press release reporting the Company’s financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended September 27, 2025. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The press release uses the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) measures of net income and earnings per diluted share and the following non-GAAP financial measures: EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income and Adjusted earnings per diluted share. A discussion of these non-GAAP financial measures, including a discussion of the usefulness and purpose of each measure, is included below. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are supplemental measures of our performance that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measurements of our financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to net income or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP, or as alternatives to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity. We define “EBITDA” as net income before interest expense, net, income tax expense (benefit), and depreciation and amortization. We define “Adjusted EBITDA” as EBITDA further adjusted for losses on debt extinguishment and financing transactions, transaction costs, costs and fees associated with investments in our strategic initiatives, gains and losses on non-recurring transactions, certain system implementation costs, and stock-based compensation expense. We present EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA because we consider them to be important supplemental measures of our performance and believe they are frequently used by securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry. Management believes that investors’ understanding of our performance is enhanced by including these non-GAAP financial measures as a reasonable basis for comparing our ongoing results of operations. Many investors are interested in understanding the performance of our business by comparing our results from ongoing operations on a period-over-period basis and would ordinarily add bac