Earnings release
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wingstop Inc. Reports Fiscal Third Quarter Financial Results Dallas, October 28, 2026 - (PRNewswire) - Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING) today announced financial results for the fiscal third quarter ended September 26, 2026. “We are taking deliberate action across our business to drive same store sales growth, with a focus on sharpening our marketing execution, strengthening restaurant operations, and leveraging Club Wingstop to deepen guest relationships,” said Michael Skipworth, President and Chief Executive Officer. “While we are not satisfied with our third quarter results and the improvement in sales performance is taking time, we are encouraged by the early indicators from the changes we've made and remain focused on returning to sustained sales growth. With compelling restaurant-level economics, a robust development pipeline, and significant global whitespace, we remain confident in the strength of the Wingstop model and our long-term opportunity to become a Top 10 Global Restaurant Brand.” Q3 2026 Highlights ▪ System-wide sales of $1.4 billion increased 6.0% vs. Q3 2025 ▪ 76 net new openings ▪ Domestic restaurant AUV of $1.85 million ▪ Domestic same store sales decreased 5.4% vs. Q3 2025 ▪ Digital sales represented 73.7% of system-wide sales ▪ Total revenue of $185.1 million, an increase of 5.3%, vs. Q3 2025 ▪ Net income, increased 2.2% to $29.1 million, or $1.07 per diluted share ▪ Adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per diluted share , both non-GAAP measures, decreased 3.5% to $29.3 million, or $1.08 per diluted share; and ▪ Adjusted EBITDA, increased 0.5% vs. Q3 2025 to $64.0 million See “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 1 1 1 1
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Key Operating Metrics Thirteen Weeks Ended September 26, 2026 September 27, 2025 Number of system-wide restaurants open at end of period 3,331 2,932 Number of domestic franchise restaurants open at end of period 2,716 2,450 Number of international franchise restaurants open at end of period 544 427 System-wide sales (in millions) $ 1,437 $ 1,356 Domestic AUV (in thousands) $ 1,848 $ 2,061 Domestic same store sales growth (5.4) % (5.6) % Company-owned domestic same store sales growth (2.7) % 3.8 % Net income (in thousands) $ 29,104 $ 28,478 Adjusted net income (in thousands) $ 29,340 $ 30,393 Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands) $ 63,999 $ 63,658 Including U.S. territories. Q3 2026 Financial Results Total revenue for the third quarter 2026 increased to $185.1 million from $175.7 million in the prior third quarter. Royalty revenue, franchise fees and other increased $5.1 million, of which $8.6 million was primarily due to net new franchise development, partially offset by a decrease of $3.6 million due to a 5.4% decline in domestic same store sales contributed by lower transaction volumes, reflecting continued pressure on consumer spending. Advertising fees increased $2.0 million due to a 6.0% increase in system-wide sales in the third quarter 2026. Company-owned restaurant sales increased $2.2 million primarily due to the sixteen corporate stores opened or acquired since the prior year period, including the thirteen stores acquired during the thirteen weeks ended September 26, 2026, as previously disclosed. Cost of sales was $27.2 million compared to $24.3 million in the prior third quarter. As a percentage of company-owned restaurant sales, cost of sales increased to 78.2% from 74.8% in the prior third quarter. The increase was primarily driven by higher food, beverage and packaging costs, related to fries and packaging costs; increased rent, repair and maintenance expenses; and higher labor costs associated with acquired restaurants. The increase also reflected the impact of lower sales on fixed labor costs and operating expenses. Selling, general & administrative (“SG&A”) expense decreased $0.2 million to $30.5 million from $30.7 million in the prior third quarter. The decrease in SG&A expense was primarily driven by $2.0 million in reduced stock compensation expense due to forfeitures recognized in the current period which was partially offset by a $1.5 million increase in headcount related expenses. Depreciation and amortization increased $2.8 million to $9.0 million from $6.2 million in the comparable period in 2025. The increase in depreciation and amortization was primarily due to capital expenditures placed in service subsequent to the comparable period in 2025 related to our technology investments. Income tax expense was $10.9 million, yielding an effective tax rate of 27.3%, comparable to 28.1% in the prior-year period. The decrease in total tax expense is primarily due to a decrease in state income taxes and other non-deductible items. (1) (1)
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Financial Outlook The Company is providing updated guidance for 2026: • A decline of approximately 6.5% to 7% in domestic same store sales growth; • Global net new units of 440 to 450, or 14.4% to 14.7% unit growth; • SG&A of between $138 - $140 million, which includes $3 million of restructuring charges related to corporate realignment; • Stock-based compensation expense of approximately $21 million; • Depreciation and amortization of approximately $35 million; and • Interest expense, net of approximately $41 million. Restaurant Development As of September 26, 2026, there were 3,331 Wingstop restaurants system-wide. This included 2,787 restaurants in the United States, of which 2,716 were franchised restaurants and 71 were company-owned, and 544 franchised restaurants were in international markets, including U.S. territories. During the third quarter 2026, there were 76 net system-wide Wingstop restaurant openings. Quarterly Dividend In recognition of our strong cash flow generation and our commitment to returning value to stockholders, on October 27, 2026, our board of directors authorized and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share of common stock, resulting in a total dividend of approximately $9.0 million. This dividend will be paid on December 4, 2026 to stockholders of record as of November 13, 2026. Share Repurchase As previously announced, during the fiscal first quarter of 2026, our board of directors authorized the purchase of up to an additional $300.0 million of our outstanding shares of common stock under our existing share repurchase program. We repurchased and retired 190,688 shares of our common stock at an average price of $131.12 per share during the third quarter of 2026. As of September 26, 2026, $288.4 million remained available under the share repurchase program previously approved by our board of directors. Since the inception of our share repurchase program in August 2023, we have repurchased and retired 3,150,161 shares of our common stock at an average price of $241.75 per share. 3
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The following definitions apply to these terms as used in this release: Domestic average unit volume (“AUV”) consists of the average annual sales of all restaurants that have been open for a trailing 52-week period or longer. This measure is calculated by dividing sales during the applicable period for all restaurants being measured by the number of restaurants being measured. Domestic AUV includes revenue from both company-owned and franchised restaurants. Domestic AUV allows management to assess our domestic company-owned and franchised restaurant economics. Changes in domestic AUV are primarily driven by increases in same store sales and are also influenced by opening new restaurants. Domestic same store sales reflects the change in year-over-year sales for the same store restaurant base. We define the same store restaurant base to include those restaurants open for at least 52 full weeks. This measure highlights the performance of existing restaurants, while excluding the impact of new restaurant openings and permanent closures. We review same store sales for domestic company-owned restaurants as well as system-wide domestic restaurants. Domestic same store sales growth is driven by increases in transactions and average transaction size. Transaction size increases are driven by price increases or favorable mix shift from either an increase in items purchased or shifts into higher priced items. System-wide sales represents net sales for all of our company-owned and franchised restaurants, as reported by franchisees. This measure allows management to better assess changes in our royalty revenue, our overall store performance, the health of our brand and the strength of our market position relative to competitors. Our system-wide sales growth is driven by new restaurant openings as well as increases in same store sales. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are defined as net income before interest expense, net, income tax expense (benefit), and depreciation and amortization (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, certain restructuring charges, and stock-based compensation expense. Adjusted net income is defined as net income 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, certain restructuring charges, and related tax adjustments. Adjusted earnings per diluted share is defined as adjusted net income divided by weighted average diluted share count. We caution investors that amounts presented in accordance with our definitions above may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by our competitors because not all companies and analysts calculate certain key operating metrics or non- GAAP measurements in the same manner. 4
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Conference Call and Webcast We will host a conference call today to discuss the third fiscal quarter 2026 financial results at 10:00 AM Eastern Time. The conference call can be joined telephonically by dialing 1-877-259-5243 or 1-412-317-5176 (international) and asking for the Wingstop conference call. A replay will be available two hours after the call and can be accessed by dialing 1-855-669-9658 or 1-412-317-0088 (international), then entering the replay code 4572027. The replay will be available through Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The conference call will also be webcast live and later archived on the investor relations section of Wingstop’s corporate website at ir.wingstop.com under the ‘News & Events’ section. About Wingstop Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Dallas, TX, Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING) operates and franchises more than 3,000 restaurants worldwide, with approximately 98% of the total restaurant count owned by brand partners. Generating over $5 billion in system-wide sales in fiscal 2025, Wingstop offers made-to-order, always fresh classic and boneless wings, tenders, and chicken sandwiches in 12 bold, distinctive flavors, alongside signature sides and iconic housemade ranch and bleu cheese dips. Dedicated to Serving the World Flavor, Wingstop is the Official Chicken Partner of the NBA with a vision to become a Top 10 Global Restaurant Brand. Learn more at wingstop.com or follow @Wingstop on X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Non-GAAP Financial Measures To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, we use non-GAAP financial measures, including those indicated above. By providing non-GAAP financial measures, together with a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measure, we believe we are enhancing investors’ understanding of our business and our results of operations, as well as assisting investors in evaluating how well we are executing our strategic initiatives. These measures are not intended to be considered in isolation or as substitutes for, or superior to, financial measures prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. The non-GAAP measures used in this press release may be different from the measures used by other companies. A reconciliation of each measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure is available in this news release. In addition, the Current Report on Form 8-K furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) concurrent with the issuance of this press release includes a more detailed description of each of these non-GAAP financial measures, together with a discussion of the usefulness and purpose of such measures. 5
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Forward-looking Statements This news release includes statements of our expectations, intentions, plans and beliefs that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are intended to come within the safe harbor protection provided by those sections. These statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, relate to the discussion of our business strategies and our expectations concerning future operations, margins, profitability, trends, liquidity and capital resources and to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. These forward- looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “outlook,” “guidance,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “think,” “estimate,” “seek,” “predict,” “can,” “could,” “project,” “potential” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements are accompanied by such terms. Examples of forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, our 2026 fiscal year outlook for domestic same store sales growth, global unit growth, SG&A expense, stock-based compensation expense, interest expense, net and depreciation and amortization. These forward- looking statements are made based on expectations and beliefs concerning future events affecting us and are subject to uncertainties, risks, and factors relating to our operations and business environments, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control, that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those matters expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Please refer to the risk factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which can be found at the SEC’s website www.sec.gov. The discussion of these risks is specifically incorporated by reference into this news release. When considering forward-looking statements in this news release or that we make in other reports or statements, you should keep in mind the cautionary statements in this news release and future reports we file with the SEC. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and we cannot predict when they may arise or how they may affect us. Any forward- looking statement in this news release speaks only as of the date on which it was made. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Media Contact Brett LeVecchio Media@wingstop.com Investor Contact Sarah Niehaus IR@wingstop.com 6
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WINGSTOP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Consolidated Balance Sheets (amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)
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September 26, 2026 December 27, 2025 (Unaudited) Assets Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 104,787 $ 196,572 Restricted cash 25,994 25,994 Accounts receivable, net 32,729 20,823 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 11,752 7,956 Advertising fund assets, restricted 20,201 16,143 Total current assets 195,463 267,488 Property and equipment, net 160,132 130,581 Operating lease assets 52,226 48,637 Goodwill 102,650 83,875 Trademarks 32,700 32,700 Investments 93,614 87,164 Other non-current assets, net 49,820 42,964 Total assets $ 686,605 $ 693,409 Liabilities and stockholders' deficit Current liabilities Accounts payable $ 18,503 $ 12,846 Current portion of operating lease liabilities 3,623 3,232 Other current liabilities 49,876 49,744 Advertising fund liabilities 20,201 16,143 Total current liabilities 92,203 81,965 Long-term debt, net 1,211,349 1,209,094 Operating lease liabilities 60,698 58,080 Deferred revenues, net of current 52,526 47,721 Deferred income tax liabilities, net 42,134 33,142 Other non-current liabilities 243 169 Total liabilities 1,459,153 1,430,171 Commitments and contingencies Stockholders' deficit Common stock, $0.01 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 27,053,023and 27,540,619 shares issued and outstanding as of September 26, 2026 andDecember 27, 2025, respectively 271 275 Additional paid-in-capital 2,113 1,529 Retained deficit (779,764) (744,915) Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) 4,832 6,349 Total stockholders' deficit (772,548) (736,762) Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit $ 686,605 $ 693,409 7
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WINGSTOP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Consolidated Statements of Operations (amounts in thousands, except per share data) Thirteen Weeks Ended September 26, 2026 September 27, 2025 (Unaudited) (Unaudited) Revenue: Royalty revenue, franchise fees and other $ 86,301 $ 81,187 Advertising fees 64,050 62,018 Company-owned restaurant sales 34,780 32,531 Total revenue 185,131 175,736 Costs and expenses: Cost of sales 27,209 24,342 Advertising expenses 67,748 65,541 Selling, general and administrative 30,474 30,659 Depreciation and amortization 9,005 6,233 Total costs and expenses 134,436 126,775 Operating income 50,695 48,961 Interest expense, net 10,576 9,201 Investment (income) expense 94 128 Income before income tax expense 40,025 39,632 Income tax expense 10,921 11,154 Net income $ 29,104 $ 28,478 Earnings per share Basic $ 1.07 $ 1.02 Diluted $ 1.07 $ 1.02 Weighted average shares outstanding Basic 27,128 27,899 Diluted 27,137 27,991 Dividends per share $ 0.33 $ 0.30 Cost of sales includes all operating expenses of company-owned restaurants, including advertising expenses, but excludes depreciation and amortization, which are presented separately. (1) (1)
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WINGSTOP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Unaudited Supplemental Information Cost of Sales Margin Analysis (amounts in thousands) Thirteen Weeks Ended September 26, 2026 September 27, 2025 In dollars As a % ofcompany-ownedrestaurant sales In dollars As a % ofcompany-ownedrestaurant sales Cost of sales: Food, beverage and packaging costs $ 12,838 36.9 % $ 11,782 36.2 % Labor costs 8,606 24.7 % 7,502 23.1 % Other restaurant operating expenses 6,755 19.4 % 5,828 17.9 % Vendor rebates (990) (2.8) % (770) (2.4) % Total cost of sales $ 27,209 78.2 % $ 24,342 74.8 % 9
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WINGSTOP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Unaudited Supplemental Information Restaurant Count Thirteen Weeks Ended September 26, 2026 September 27, 2025 Domestic Franchised Activity Beginning of period 2,671 2,357 Openings 59 93 Closures (1) — Acquired by Company (13) — Restaurants end of period 2,716 2,450 Domestic Company-Owned Activity Beginning of period 57 54 Openings 1 1 Closures — — Acquired by Company 13 — Restaurants end of period 71 55 Total Domestic Restaurants 2,787 2,505 International Franchised Activity Beginning of period 527 407 Openings 21 22 Closures (4) (2) Restaurants end of period 544 427 Total System-wide Restaurants 3,331 2,932 Includes U.S. territories. (1) (1) 10
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WINGSTOP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Non-GAAP Financial Measures - EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (Unaudited) (amounts in thousands) Thirteen Weeks Ended September 26, 2026 September 27, 2025 Net income $ 29,104 $ 28,478 Interest expense, net 10,576 9,201 Income tax expense 10,921 11,154 Depreciation and amortization 9,005 6,233 EBITDA $ 59,606 $ 55,066 Additional adjustments: System implementation costs — 2,063 Amortization of capitalized system implementation costs 311 457 Stock-based compensation expense 4,082 6,072 Adjusted EBITDA $ 63,999 $ 63,658 System implementation costs represent non-recurring expenses incurred related to the development and implementation of new enterprise resource planning, human capital management, and global development technology, which are included in Selling, general and administrative on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Represents amortization associated with capitalized cloud computing costs related to our system implementation, which are included in Selling, general and administrative on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Includes non-cash, stock-based compensation, net of forfeitures. WINGSTOP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Non-GAAP Financial Measures - Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS (Unaudited) (amounts in thousands, except per share data) (a) (b) (c) (a) (b) (c) 11
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Thirteen Weeks Ended September 26, 2026 September 27, 2025 Numerator: Net income $ 29,104 $ 28,478 Adjustments: System implementation costs — 2,063 Amortization of capitalized system implementation costs 311 457 Tax effect of adjustments (75) (605) Adjusted net income $ 29,340 $ 30,393 Denominator: Weighted-average shares outstanding - diluted 27,137 27,991 Adjusted earnings per diluted share $ 1.08 $ 1.09 System implementation costs represent non-recurring expenses incurred related to the development and implementation of new enterprise resource planning, human capital management, and global development technology, which are included in Selling, general and administrative on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Represents amortization associated with capitalized cloud computing costs related to our system implementation, which are included in Selling, general and administrative on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Represents the tax effect of the aforementioned adjustments to reflect corporate income taxes at an assumed effective tax rate of 24% for the thirteen weeks ended September 26, 2026, which includes provisions for U.S. federal income taxes, and assumes the respective statutory rates for applicable state and local jurisdictions. (a) (b) (c) (a) (b) (c) 12