Wingstop Inc. (“Wingstop” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: WING) has released its financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and full fiscal year ending December 28, 2024. These results highlight the company’s continued growth, strong performance metrics, and expansion across domestic and international markets.
Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2024 Highlights
Compared to the fiscal fourth quarter of 2023, Wingstop demonstrated strong financial and operational performance:
- System-wide sales grew by 27.6%, reaching $1.2 billion.
- The company achieved 105 net new openings during the quarter.
- Domestic restaurant average unit volume (AUV) increased to $2.1 million.
- Domestic same-store sales saw a 10.1% increase.
- Digital sales comprised 70.3% of system-wide sales.
- Total revenue increased 27.4% to $161.8 million.
- Net income rose 42.2% to $26.8 million, or $0.92 per diluted share.
- Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, increased 44.2% to $56.3 million.
Fiscal Year 2024 Highlights
For the full fiscal year compared to 2023:
- System-wide sales increased 36.8%, reaching $4.8 billion.
- A net total of 349 new restaurants opened in 2024.
- System-wide restaurant count increased 15.8%, totaling 2,563 locations worldwide.
- Domestic same-store sales grew 19.9%.
- Total revenue saw a 36.0% increase, reaching $625.8 million.
- Net income surged 54.9%, totaling $108.7 million, or $3.70 per diluted share.
- Adjusted EBITDA increased 44.8%, reaching $212.1 million.
CEO Comments
Michael Skipworth, President and CEO of Wingstop, expressed confidence in Financial Results the company’s strategy:
Detailed Financial Results
Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2024 Performance
Total revenue for Q4 2024 reached $161.8 million, compared to $127.1 million in Q4 2023. The breakdown of revenue sources is as follows:
- Royalty revenue, franchise fees, and other revenue increased by $18.0 million, with $10.9 million coming from new franchise development and $4.5 million from same-store sales growth.
- Advertising fees grew by $12.9 million, driven by a 27.6% increase in system-wide sales and an increase in the national advertising fund contribution rate from 5.0% to 5.3%.
- Company-owned restaurant sales increased by $3.8 million, attributed to new openings and a 3.8% increase in same-store sales, primarily driven by higher transaction volumes.
Cost Analysis
- Cost of sales increased to $23.3 million, compared to $19.7 million in Q4 2023. The cost of sales percentage rose to 77.6% from 75.1%, primarily due to increased food, beverage, and packaging costs, particularly higher bone-in chicken wing prices.
- Selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses increased by $3.2 million to $31.2 million, primarily due to higher headcount-related expenses supporting business growth.
- Depreciation and amortization expenses increased by $2.2 million to $5.9 million, mainly due to the launch of the MyWingstop software platform.
Fiscal Year 2024 Performance
Total revenue for fiscal year 2024 reached $625.8 million, up from $460.1 million in 2023.
- Royalty revenue, franchise fees, and other revenue grew by $81.3 million, with $36.1 million coming from domestic same-store sales growth and $29.9 million from new franchise development.
- Advertising fees increased by $60.5 million, driven by a 36.8% increase in system-wide sales and the advertising fund contribution rate increase.
- Company-owned restaurant sales rose by $24.0 million, with $16.0 million from same-store sales growth and $8.0 million from newly opened or acquired locations.
Cost Analysis
- Cost of sales increased to $91.6 million, compared to $70.6 million in 2023. As a percentage of sales, costs rose from 73.7% to 76.5%, driven primarily by higher food, beverage, and packaging costs, particularly bone-in chicken wings.
- SG&A expenses increased to $116.8 million, compared to $96.9 million in 2023. The increase was driven by higher personnel costs, performance-based stock compensation, and consulting fees related to strategic initiatives.
- Depreciation and amortization increased by $6.3 million to $19.5 million, primarily due to investments in the MyWingstop technology platform.
