Inflation takes bite out of Wingstop chicken wings
Wingstop reported a fourth-quarter profit of $6.9 million, or 23 cents per share
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Inflation has taken a bite out of Wingstop, with costs for its bone-in chicken wings soaring 27.5% year-over-year in the fourth quarter and a record 40.9% year-over-year for fiscal year 2021.
Inflation has taken a bite out of Wingstop, with costs for its bone-in chicken wings jumping 27.5% year-over-year in the fourth quarter and a record 40.9% year-over-year for fiscal year 2021. (Wingstop)
Consumers are paying over 10% more for chicken, as reported in the recent Consumer Price Index, along with other meats.
The restaurant chain's overall cost of sales, excluding pre-opening expenses, increased to $14.4 million for the fiscal fourth quarter and $56.9 million for fiscal year 2021, up from $12.2 million and $48.6 million, respectively, a year ago.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WING | WINGSTOP | 297.18 | +0.24 | +0.08% |
As a percentage of company-owned restaurant sales, cost of sales increased 84.7% in the fourth quarter and 81% for the full year, compared to 76.7% and 74.7% during the same periods last year.
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Wingstop reported a quarterly profit of $6.9 million, or 23 cents per share, compared to a loss of $6.4 million, or 21 cents per share, a year ago. As for the full-year, the company reported a profit of $42.7 million, or $1.42 per share, compared to $23.3 million, or 78 cents per share, last year.
Signage is seen at a Wingstop restaurant in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S., November 19, 2021. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly) (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)
Total revenue for the quarter grew 13.8% to $72 million, up from $63.3 million last year. System-wide sales in the quarter increased 19.8% to $601.9 million, with digital sales accounting for 61.3% of total sales, while domestic same store sales increased 7.5%. Meanwhile, revenue for the full year rose 13.5% to 282.5 million, with system-wide sales jumping 20.2% to $2.3 billion and domestic same store sales increasing 8%.
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As of Dec. 25, 2021, Wingstop had 1,731 restaurants system-wide, including 1,534 locations in the United States. Over 1,400 of the domestic locations are operated by franchisees, while 36 are company-owned. Internationally, Wingstop has 197 franchised restaurants.
Looking ahead at 2022, it expects to add approximately 200 net new units.