Wingstop beats expectations as same-store sales surge, chicken costs fall

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ:WING) was flying higher after beating expectations for its latest earnings, boosted by better-than-forecast same-store sales.

Shares were up 8% in early afternoon trading after hitting a 52-week high. They are up more than 30% so far this year.

The restaurant chain known for its chicken wing offerings is also benefiting from lower prices for its core product. The company cited a 49.3% decrease in the cost of bone-in chicken wings compared with the comparable period a year ago.

Same-store sales in the fourth quarter rose 8.7%, better than the 6.1% expected by analysts and driven entirely by transaction growth, the company said. 

CEO Michael Skipworth said: "The combination of strong top-line growth and meaningful deflation in our business in 2022 has continued to strengthen our brand partners' unit economics and positioned the brand for continued long term growth on our path to scaling Wingstop into a Top 10 Global Restaurant Brand."

The company is preparing to introduce its chicken sandwich, the latest entry in the chicken sandwich wars among fast food chains. 

Wingstop said system-wide sales increased 28.9% in the fourth quarter, to $775.7 million, and it opened 61 net new locations. Total revenue increased 45.6% to $104.9M.

The company confirmed its three- to five-year outlook of mid-single digit domestic same-store sales growth. It plans to open 240 net new locations this year.