Shake Shack vs Wendy's
Wendy's reported revenue of $2.2 billion in fiscal 2025, 1.5 times Shake Shack's $1.4 billion in fiscal 2025. Shake Shack's revenue grew 15.4% in its latest year, and Wendy's fell 3.1%. Shake Shack had an operating margin of 4.3%, against 15.8% at Wendy's. Free cash flow was $57 million at Shake Shack and $243 million at Wendy's. Their fiscal years end in different months (December 31 and December 28), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Shake Shack | Wendy's | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 28, 2025 |
| Revenue | $1.4B | $2.2B |
| Revenue growth | 15.4% | −3.1% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 22.5% | 4.7% |
| Gross margin | — | 63.6% |
| Operating margin | 4.3% | 15.8% |
| Net margin | 3.2% | 7.6% |
| Free cash flow | $57M | $243M |
| Free cash flow margin | 3.9% | 11.2% |
| Return on capital | 9.6% | 7.8% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −0.6x | 6.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0M | $330M |
| Change in diluted share count | −5.3% | −5.6% |
| Last close | $64.89 | $6.19 |
| P/E at the last close | 68.3× | 9.4× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $3.2 million, sold $178,081 | bought $17,846, sold $0 |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 8 | 4 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Shake ShackWendy's
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Shake ShackWendy's
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Shake ShackWendy's
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Shake Shack and Wendy's pages.