Form 8-K

8-K — Wingstop Inc.

Accession: 0001628280-26-067723

Filed: 2026-10-28

Period: 2026-10-27

CIK: 0001636222

SIC: 5812 (RETAIL-EATING PLACES)

Item: Results of Operations and Financial Condition

Item: Other Events

Item: Financial Statements and Exhibits

Documents

8-K — wing-20261027.htm (Primary)

EX-99.1 (a991wingearningsreleasedra.htm)

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XML — IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT (R1.htm)

8-K

8-K (Primary)

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wing-20261027

0001636222FALSE00016362222026-10-272026-10-27

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): October 27, 2026

WINGSTOP INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware 001-37425 47-3494862

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) Commission File Number (IRS Employer Identification No.)

2801 N Central Expressway

Suite 1600

Dallas, Texas

75204

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(972) 686-6500

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share WING NASDAQ Global Select Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 2.02. Results of Operations and Financial Condition

The following information is furnished pursuant to Item 2.02, “Results of Operations and Financial Condition.” Consequently, it shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall such information be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

On October 28, 2026, Wingstop Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) issued a press release reporting the Company’s financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended September 26, 2026. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The press release uses the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) measures of net income and earnings per diluted share and the following non-GAAP financial measures: EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income and Adjusted earnings per diluted share. A discussion of these non-GAAP financial measures, including a discussion of the usefulness and purpose of each measure, is included below.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are supplemental measures of our performance that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measurements of our financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to net income or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP, or as alternatives to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity.

We define “EBITDA” as net income before interest expense, net, income tax expense (benefit), and depreciation and amortization. We define “Adjusted EBITDA” as 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. We present EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA because we consider them to be important supplemental measures of our performance and believe they are frequently used by securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry. Management believes that investors’ understanding of our performance is enhanced by including these non-GAAP financial measures as a reasonable basis for comparing our ongoing results of operations. Many investors are interested in understanding the performance of our business by comparing our results from ongoing operations on a period-over-period basis and would ordinarily add back non-cash expenses such as depreciation and amortization, as well as items that are not part of normal day-to-day operations of our business.

Management uses EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA:

•as a measurement of operating performance because we believe they assist management in comparing the operating performance of our restaurants on a consistent basis, as they remove the impact of items not directly resulting from our core operations;

•for planning purposes, including the preparation of our internal annual operating budget and financial projections;

•to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of our operational strategies;

•to evaluate our capacity to fund capital expenditures and expand our business; and

•to calculate incentive compensation payments for our employees, including assessing performance under our annual incentive compensation plan.

By providing these 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. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation, or as an alternative to, or a substitute for, net income or other financial statement data presented in our consolidated financial statements as indicators of financial performance. Some of the limitations include, but are not limited to, the following:

•such measures do not reflect our cash expenditures, or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;

•such measures do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;

•such measures do not reflect the interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on our debt;

•such measures do not reflect our tax expense or the cash requirements to pay our taxes;

•although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future and such measures do not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements; and

•other companies in our industry may calculate such measures differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.

Due to these and other limitations, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as measures of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using these non-GAAP measures only as performance measures and supplementally. As noted in the press release attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1, Adjusted EBITDA includes adjustments 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. We believe these adjustments are appropriate because the amounts recognized can vary significantly from period-to-period, do not directly relate to the ongoing operations of our restaurants, and complicate comparisons of our internal operating results and operating results of other restaurant companies over time.

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings Per Diluted Share. Adjusted net income represents 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 that management believes are not indicative of the Company’s core operating results or business outlook over the long-term. Adjusted earnings per diluted share is defined as adjusted net income divided by weighted average diluted share count. Adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per diluted share are supplemental measures of operating performance that do not represent and should not be considered alternatives to net income and earnings per diluted share, as determined by GAAP. These measures have not been prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act. Management believes adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per diluted share supplement GAAP measures and enable management to more effectively evaluate the Company’s performance period-over-period and relative to competitors.

We caution investors that amounts presented in accordance with our definitions may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by our competitors because not all companies and analysts calculate certain non-GAAP measures in the same manner.

Item 8.01. Other Events

Quarterly Dividend

On October 27, 2026, the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.33 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on December 4, 2026 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 13, 2026. The declaration of any future dividends is subject to the Board’s discretion.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d) Exhibits

99.1

Press release, dated October 28, 2026 (furnished pursuant to Item 2.02)

104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL Document)

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Wingstop Inc.

Date: October 28, 2026 By: /s/ Alex R. Kaleida

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

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Document

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 income1 and adjusted earnings per diluted share1, both non-GAAP measures, decreased 3.5% to $29.3 million, or $1.08 per diluted share; and

▪Adjusted EBITDA1, increased 0.5% vs. Q3 2025 to $64.0 million

1See “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.

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 (1)

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

(1) 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

WINGSTOP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)

September 26,

2026

December 27,

2025

(Unaudited)

Assets

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

$ 104,787

$ 196,572

Restricted cash

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

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; 27,053,023 and 27,540,619 shares issued and outstanding as of September 26, 2026 and December 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

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 (1)

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

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

(1) Cost of sales includes all operating expenses of company-owned restaurants, including advertising expenses, but excludes depreciation and amortization, which are presented separately.

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 % of company-owned restaurant sales In dollars As a % of company-owned restaurant 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 %

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

Closures

(1)

—

Acquired by Company

(13)

—

Restaurants end of period

2,716

2,450

Domestic Company-Owned Activity

Beginning of period

Openings

Closures

—

Acquired by Company

—

Restaurants end of period

Total Domestic Restaurants

2,787

2,505

International Franchised Activity(1)

Beginning of period

527

407

Openings

Closures

(4)

(2)

Restaurants end of period

544

427

Total System-wide Restaurants

3,331

2,932

(1) Includes U.S. territories.

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 (a)

—

2,063

Amortization of capitalized system implementation costs (b)

311

457

Stock-based compensation expense (c)

4,082

6,072

Adjusted EBITDA

$ 63,999

$ 63,658

(a) 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.

(b) 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.

WINGSTOP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Non-GAAP Financial Measures - Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS

(Unaudited)

(amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Thirteen Weeks Ended

September 26,

2026

September 27,

2025

Numerator:

Net income

$ 29,104

$ 28,478

Adjustments:

System implementation costs (a)

—

2,063

Amortization of capitalized system implementation costs (b)

311

457

Tax effect of adjustments (c)

(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

(c) 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.

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v3.26.3

Document and Entity Information

Oct. 27, 2026

Cover [Abstract]

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8-K

Document Period End Date

Oct. 27, 2026

Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code

Entity File Number

001-37425

Entity Tax Identification Number

47-3494862

Entity Address, Address Line One

2801 N Central Expressway

Entity Address, Address Line Two

Suite 1600

Entity Address, City or Town

Dallas

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75204

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686-6500

City Area Code

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WING

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NASDAQ

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