How Wingstop makes money
Wingstop Inc. (Nasdaq: WING) is a restaurant franchisor. Almost all of its 3,255 restaurants (as of June 27, 2026) are run by franchisees. The company collects royalties and franchise fees, takes advertising fund contributions of 5.5% of sales, and runs 57 company-owned restaurants. Its menu sticks to wings, tenders, chicken sandwiches and fries.
Fiscal 2025 results
Revenue rose 11.4% to $696.9 million in fiscal 2025, and system-wide sales grew 12.1% to $5.3 billion. Net income climbed to $174.3 million, but that figure includes a one-time gain on the sale of the company's minority stake in Lemon Pepper Holdings, its UK master franchisee. Adjusted net income was $114.5 million and adjusted EBITDA was $244.2 million. Wingstop opened a record 493 net new restaurants, entered six new international markets and installed its Smart Kitchen system in all 2,586 domestic restaurants. Domestic same store sales fell 3.3%, the brand's first annual decline in 22 years.
2026 so far
In Q2 2026 revenue rose 6.4% to $185.6 million and net income grew 16.9% to $31.3 million. Domestic same store sales dropped 7.5% as lower-income customers cut back, and average unit volume slipped to $1.89 million. Digital channels handled 71.6% of sales, and the company launched Club Wingstop loyalty nationally. Management expects fiscal 2026 domestic same store sales to fall 4% to 6%, with global unit growth of 15% to 16%.
Leadership and history
Antonio Swad opened the first Wingstop in Garland, Texas in 1994. The company later passed through Gemini Investors and Roark Capital before its 2015 IPO under CEO Charlie Morrison. Michael Skipworth, who joined in 2014 and served as CFO, has been CEO since March 2022. Alex Kaleida is CFO.
