Wendy's Co (WEN) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Welcome to The Wendy's Company earnings results conference call. (Operator Instructions) You may begin your conference.

早安.歡迎參加溫蒂漢堡公司財報電話會議。（操作員說明）您可以開始會議了。

Good morning and thank you for joining our fiscal 2025 fourth quarter earnings conference call. After this brief introduction, Ken Cook, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, will provide a business update, and then Suzie Thuerk, Chief Accounting Officer and Global Head of FP&A, will review our fourth quarter results, share capital allocation priorities and our 2026 outlook.

早安，感謝各位參加我們2025財年第四季財報電話會議。在簡短的介紹之後，臨時執行長兼財務長 Ken Cook 將提供業務最新情況，然後首席會計官兼全球財務規劃與分析主管 Suzie Thuerk 將回顧我們第四季度的業績、股本分配重點以及我們對 2026 年的展望。

From there, we will open up the line for questions. Today's conference call and webcast includes a presentation, which is available on our Investor Relations website, ir.wendys.com. Before we begin, please take note of the safe harbor statement that appears at the end of today's earnings release.

接下來，我們將開放提問通道。今天的電話會議和網路直播包含一份演示文稿，該演示文稿可在我們的投資者關係網站ir.wendys.com上查看。在會議開始之前，請注意今天財報發布末尾的安全港聲明。

This disclosure reminds investors that certain information we discuss today is forward-looking and reflects our current expectations about future plans and performance. Various factors could affect our results and cause those results to differ materially from the projections set forth in our forward-looking statements. Also some of today's comments will reference non-GAAP financial measures. Investors should refer to our reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure at the end of this presentation or in today's earnings release. If you have questions following today's conference call, please contact me.

此項揭露旨在提醒投資者，我們今天討論的某些資訊屬於前瞻性訊息，反映了我們目前對未來計畫和績效的預期。各種因素可能會影響我們的業績，並導致這些業績與我們前瞻性聲明中提出的預測有重大差異。此外，今天的一些評論還會提及非GAAP財務指標。投資人應參閱本簡報結尾或今日發布的收益報告中的非GAAP財務指標與最直接可比較的GAAP指標的調節表。如果您在今天的電話會議後有任何疑問，請與我聯絡。

I will now hand the call over to Ken.

現在我將把電話交給肯。

Thank you, Aaron, and good morning, everyone. I want to begin by recognizing our franchisees, restaurant teams and company employees for their ongoing commitment to the Wendy's brand. Together as One Wendy's, we are strengthening the foundation to deliver long-term profitable growth for the company and our franchisees.

謝謝你，亞倫，大家早安。首先，我要感謝我們的加盟商、餐廳團隊和公司員工，感謝他們對 Wendy's 品牌的持續投入。作為一家 Wendy's，我們齊心協力，鞏固基礎，為公司和我們的加盟商帶來長期獲利成長。

This morning, I'll start by discussing our fourth quarter results and full year highlights then provide an update on Project Fresh, and lastly, I'll share our 2026 outlook before passing it over to Suzie to talk through the financials in more detail.

今天上午，我將首先討論我們第四季度的業績和全年亮點，然後介紹「新鮮項目」的最新進展，最後，我將分享我們對 2026 年的展望，之後將交給 Suzie，讓她更詳細地討論財務狀況。

Starting with the fourth quarter. While results were in line with our expectations, we know that we have a lot of work to do to improve performance. With Project Fresh underway, we have the right plan in place to strengthen our US business. As we shared on our last earnings call, we expected fourth quarter system-wide sales to be down significantly, and they were.

從第四節開始。雖然結果符合我們的預期，但我們知道，為了提高業績，我們還有很多工作要做。隨著「新鮮項目」的推進，我們已經制定了正確的計劃來加強我們在美國的業務。正如我們在上次財報電話會議上所說，我們預計第四季系統銷售額將大幅下降，而實際情況也確實如此。

Global system-wide sales declined 8.3%, driven by our US business, where marketing spend was down significantly as a result of front-end loaded ad spending in 2025 and sales trends throughout the year in addition to a tough comp with our Spongebob collaboration in the prior year and our decision to shift the launch of our new chicken sandwiches into 2026 to ensure excellent execution.

全球系統銷售額下降 8.3%，主要受美國業務影響。由於 2025 年前期廣告支出集中，加上全年銷售趨勢，以及去年與海綿寶寶合作帶來的高基數效應，以及為了確保完美執行，我們決定將新雞肉三明治的推出推遲到 2026 年，導緻美國市場營銷支出大幅下降。

A bright spot for the US was the rollout of our chicken tenders and new sauce lineup, which delivered strong customer satisfaction scores, demonstrating the power of focused execution.

美國市場的一大亮點是雞柳和新醬料系列的推出，獲得了很高的客戶滿意度評分，證明了專注執行的力量。

Turning to our International business. Performance remained strong with systemwide sales up 6.2% in the fourth quarter, its 21 consecutive quarter of growth.

接下來談談我們的國際業務。公司業績依然強勁，第四季系統銷售額成長 6.2%，連續第 21 個季度實現成長。

International expansion remains a key priority, and we continued our momentum, opening 59 new locations in the fourth quarter. New restaurant openings came from key stronghold markets such as Canada and Mexico as well as new markets such as Armenia and Scotland, both of which delivered strong sales following their launch.

國際擴張仍然是我們的首要任務，我們繼續保持這一勢頭，在第四季度開設了 59 個新地點。新餐廳的開幕主要來自加拿大和墨西哥等主要市場，以及亞美尼亞和蘇格蘭等新興市場，這兩個市場在開業後都取得了強勁的銷售業績。

From a profitability perspective, total company adjusted EBITDA was $113.3 million and adjusted EPS was $0.16. Turning to our full year performance. 2025 was a challenging year, but it was also an important year as we began laying the foundation to rebuild.

從獲利能力來看，該公司調整後 EBITDA 為 1.133 億美元，調整後每股收益為 0.16 美元。接下來回顧我們全年的業績。 2025 年充滿挑戰，但也是至關重要的一年，因為我們開始為重建奠定基礎。

Global system-wide sales declined 3.5%, driven by US same-restaurant sales, highlighting the need for change across many areas of our business, including heightened focus on both operations and marketing effectiveness. We are encouraged by the operational improvements throughout our US company-operated restaurants, which are making a difference for our customers. These efforts have driven increases in customer satisfaction scores, including improvements in accuracy, friendliness and overall satisfaction and same-restaurant sales at US company-operated restaurants outperformed the broader US system by 310 basis points.

全球系統銷售額下降 3.5%，主要受美國同店銷售額下降的影響，這凸顯了我們業務的許多領域需要進行變革，包括更重視營運和行銷效率。我們很高興地看到，美國公司自營餐廳的營運水準不斷提高，這為我們的顧客帶來了顯著的改善。這些努力提高了顧客滿意度評分，包括準確性、友善性和整體滿意度的提高，美國公司自營餐廳的同店銷售額比美國整體水平高出 310 個基點。

Many franchisees have already begun implementing similar improvements, and we expect adoption to accelerate throughout 2026. We also made significant progress scaling our digital business throughout 2025, with US digital sales growing 12.4% versus the prior year and bringing our full year US digital mix to an all-time high of 20%.

許多加盟商已經開始實施類似的改善措施，我們預計到 2026 年，這些改善措施的採用速度將會加快。2025 年，我們在擴大數位業務方面也取得了重大進展，美國數位銷售額比上一年增長了 12.4%，使我們全年美國數位業務佔比達到歷史新高 20%。

We have continued to make improvements to the Wendy's app, including a redesigned home screen and gamification features, which drove higher customer engagement and record conversion rates.

我們不斷改進 Wendy's 應用程序，包括重新設計主螢幕和遊戲化功能，從而提高了客戶參與度並創下了轉換率新紀錄。

Next, our International business continued to be a strong growth engine throughout the year, delivering an 8.1% increase in system-wide sales with growth across all regions and 159 new restaurant openings. Net unit growth was up over 9% with 121 net new restaurants in 2025, marking a new record in the history of our International business, a clear sign that our international strategy is working, and that investments in on the ground, local resources, including regional franchisee recruiting, marketing and the globalized supply chain are delivering benefits.

其次，我們的國際業務全年持續強勁成長，系統銷售額成長 8.1%，所有地區均實現成長，並新開設了 159 家餐廳。2025 年淨新增餐廳數量達到 121 家，淨增加 9% 以上，創下國際業務歷史新紀錄，這清楚地表明我們的國際戰略正在奏效，對當地資源（包括區域加盟商招募、市場營銷和全球化供應鏈）的投資正在帶來收益。

We achieved growth in both existing markets like Canada and Mexico as well as entry into seven new markets, including Australia and Romania, expanding our total number of international markets from 31 to 38. This is a meaningful proof point that the Wendy's brand resonates across the globe as we execute our globally great, locally loved strategy.

我們在加拿大和墨西哥等現有市場實現了成長，並進入了包括澳洲和羅馬尼亞在內的七個新市場，使我們的國際市場總數從 31 個增加到 38 個。這有力地證明了溫蒂漢堡品牌在全球範圍內引起了共鳴，這得益於我們貫徹了「全球卓越，本地喜愛」的策略。

We also secured new development agreements to build a total of 338 new restaurants that will drive International growth in the years to come.

我們還獲得了新的開發協議，將建造總共 338 家新餐廳，這將推動未來幾年的國際成長。

Turning to our cash flow and capital strategy. We generated $345 million of cash flow from operations in the year. We optimized our capital deployment to match our growth strategy by reducing US build-to-suit spend by over $20 million in the year as we shifted our focus to profitable AUV growth. As a result, we delivered $205 million of free cash flow for the full year.

接下來談談我們的現金流和資本策略。本年度，我們的經營活動產生了3.45億美元的現金流。我們優化了資本部署，以配合我們的成長策略，將美國客製化建造支出減少了 2,000 多萬美元，並將重點轉移到獲利的 AUV 成長上。因此，我們全年實現了 2.05 億美元的自由現金流。

Returning cash to shareholders also remains a key priority, and we returned $330 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, up more than $48 million from the prior year. Lastly, we established our One Wendy's approach to the business and are actively working to strengthen the system by focusing on franchisee economics and improving the customer experience. Over the last year, we've learned a great deal.

向股東返還現金仍然是一項關鍵優先事項，我們透過股利和股票回購向股東返還了 3.3 億美元，比前一年增加了 4,800 多萬美元。最後，我們確立了「一個溫蒂漢堡」的商業模式，並積極致力於透過關注加盟商的經濟效益和改善客戶體驗來加強該體系。過去一年，我們學到了很多。

We've invested in deeper data and insights on our customers, and we've improved visibility to restaurant-level performance. We now have a clear picture of what needs to improve in our marketing, menu and operations, and how to optimize the store footprint within our system. Project Fresh is our turnaround strategy to clearly address these issues, and we are implementing it with urgency. 2026 will be a rebuilding year for Wendy's. We are making the right decisions to strengthen our foundation for the long term.

我們加大了對客戶數據的投入，並提高了對餐廳層面績效的可見度。現在我們已經清楚地了解了行銷、菜單和營運方面需要改進的地方，以及如何在我們的系統中優化門市佈局。「煥新計畫」是我們旨在解決這些問題的轉型策略，我們正在緊急實施。 2026年將是溫蒂漢堡的重建之年。我們正在做出正確的決定，以鞏固我們的長期發展基礎。

Project Fresh is structured around four strategic pillars: brand revitalization, operational excellence, system optimization and capital allocation. Together, these initiatives will strengthen the business and accelerate our progress in the years ahead.

「新鮮計畫」圍繞著四大策略支柱建構：品牌重塑、卓越營運、系統優化和資本配置。這些舉措將共同增強公司實力，並在未來幾年加速我們的發展。

Let me take a moment to share some of the specific actions underway. The first pillar of Project Fresh is revitalizing the brand to reestablish Wendy's as the highest quality choice in QSR, which centers around improving how we connect and engage with customers in more relevant and distinctive ways. Our focus this year is restoring relevance and rebuilding trust with customers through disciplined execution and marketing.

讓我花點時間分享目前正在採取的一些具體行動。「新鮮計畫」的第一個支柱是重振品牌，重新確立 Wendy's 作為快餐業最高品質選擇的地位，其核心在於以更相關、更獨特的方式改善我們與顧客的聯繫和互動。我們今年的重點是透過嚴謹的執行和行銷來恢復品牌相關性並重建客戶信任。

To understand exactly what our customers are looking for, we completed a comprehensive consumer segmentation study that used a needs-based approach to identify the key drivers that influence when, why and where consumers choose to eat. We've pinpointed where Wendy's quality positioning has the strongest appeal and are focusing our marketing and menu efforts on the consumer segments identified that represent the greatest growth opportunity.

為了準確了解我們的客戶在尋找什麼，我們完成了一項全面的消費者細分研究，該研究採用基於需求的方法來確定影響消費者何時、為何以及在哪裡用餐的關鍵驅動因素。我們已經確定了 Wendy's 的品質定位最具吸引力的領域，並將我們的行銷和菜單工作重點放在那些被認為具有最大成長機會的消費者群體上。

Our efforts are targeted towards their specific need states while consistently reinforcing Wendy's leadership in food quality and value. We have translated these insights into a brand essence framework, a north star that serves as guiding principles for the entire organization. This framework clarifies how we set priorities, elevate our brand, communicate our value and enhance the customer experience.

我們的努力旨在滿足他們的特定需求，同時不斷鞏固 Wendy's 在食品品質和價值方面的領先地位。我們將這些見解轉化為品牌精髓框架，這顆指引整個組織前進的北極星，是其指導原則。該框架闡明了我們如何設定優先事項、提升品牌形象、傳達價值以及增強客戶體驗。

Going forward, it will guide not only our marketing approach but decision-making around menu and operational priorities throughout the organization, enabling better alignment and execution in everything we do and keeping us focused on being squarely better than anyone else in QSR.

展望未來，它不僅將指導我們的行銷策略，還將指導整個組織圍繞菜單和營運重點的決策，從而使我們能夠更好地協調和執行我們所做的一切，並讓我們專注於在快餐行業中比任何人都更出色。

Our learnings have already informed a new marketing and menu approach, which has significantly strengthened our marketing calendar for 2026. We're taking a balanced approach across core, innovation and value offerings, supported by improved messaging that connects with customers in socially and culturally relevant ways.

我們的經驗已經為新的行銷和菜單策略提供了依據，這大大加強了我們 2026 年的行銷計劃。我們在核心產品、創新產品和增值產品方面採取平衡策略，並透過改善訊息傳遞方式，以符合社會和文化的方式與客戶建立聯繫。

In addition, we've established a more disciplined programming structure to ensure a steady stream of new news that keeps the brand top of mind and supports higher customer frequency, while providing restaurant teams adequate time to train and execute with excellence. We're taking meaningful action to strengthen our everyday value offerings, centering on a new strategic platform as opposed to short-term promotions.

此外，我們還建立了更嚴謹的節目編排結構，以確保源源不斷地發布新聞，使品牌保持在消費者心中的首選地位，並提高顧客光顧頻率，同時為餐廳團隊提供充足的時間進行培訓和卓越執行。我們正在採取實際有效的措施來加強日常價值主張，重點是建立新的策略平台，而不是進行短期促銷活動。

In January, we built on the brand equity of Biggie and launched new Biggie deals as our everyday value architecture, a tiered structure at $4, $6 and $8 price points. This isn't a limited time offer. It's a permanent value platform to broaden our appeal, give customers more choice and capture incremental eating occasions like snacking at attractive price points.

1 月份，我們鞏固了 Biggie 的品牌資產，並推出了新的 Biggie 優惠活動，作為我們的日常價值架構，採用 4 美元、6 美元和 8 美元的分級結構。這不是限時優惠。這是一個永久性的價值平台，旨在擴大我們的吸引力，為顧客提供更多選擇，並以有吸引力的價格抓住零食等增量消費場景。

On the premium side of our menu, the segmentation study reaffirmed that Wendy's quality remains a core differentiator compared to competitors, and we're focused on highlighting that for more consumers. Quality leadership starts with our core menu.

在高端產品方面，市場區隔研究再次證實，與競爭對手相比，Wendy's 的品質仍然是其核心差異化優勢，我們正致力於向更多消費者強調這一點。卓越的品質始於我們的核心菜單。

Our hamburgers are what Wendy's is famous for, and we will bring consumers focus back to what makes Wendy's different and special. Our brand was built on serving the best-tasting hamburgers in QSR using fresh, never frozen beef, and we will reestablish that position in 2026. This starts with a new cheesy bacon cheeseburger launching next week, and you'll continue to see hamburger innovation as we move throughout the year.

我們的漢堡包是溫蒂漢堡的招牌，我們將讓消費者重新關注溫蒂漢堡的獨特之處和特色。我們的品牌建立在為快餐店提供最美味的漢堡包之上，我們使用新鮮的、從未冷凍過的牛肉，我們將在 2026 年重新確立這一地位。首先，我們將在下週推出全新的起司培根起司漢堡，在接下來的一年中，您將看到漢堡包的持續創新。

Additionally, we were pleased by the strong response to the launch of our chicken tenders, and we are continuing to build on that momentum by leveraging the quality of our product to expand our chicken offerings. Next week, we're bringing new and exciting news to our chicken menu with the launch of a chicken tenders ranch wrap.

此外，我們很高興看到雞柳上市後獲得了熱烈的反響，我們將繼續利用產品品質擴大雞肉產品供應，以此保持這一勢頭。下週，我們將為雞肉菜單帶來令人興奮的新消息——推出雞柳牧場捲餅。

In 2026, we will prioritize meaningful innovation across both hamburgers and chicken, focusing on launches that restaurants can execute with excellence while reinforcing our quality positioning. In addition to a new menu approach, we are elevating the effectiveness of our marketing and optimizing our mix by allocating more spend towards digital, social and streaming platforms.

2026 年，我們將優先考慮漢堡和雞肉方面的有意義的創新，重點介紹餐廳能夠出色執行的產品，同時鞏固我們的品質定位。除了新的菜單方式，我們還透過增加對數位、社群和串流平台的投入，提高行銷效率並優化行銷組合。

We are increasing culturally relevant marketing in these channels, leveraging our consumer segmentation insights and new data and analytics capabilities for more targeted messaging. Maintaining top of mind awareness is important for Wendy's. We've significantly increased our always on social engagement, and that awareness will translate into traffic over time.

我們正在這些管道中加大與文化相關的行銷力度，利用我們的消費者細分洞察和新的數據與分析能力，實現更有針對性的訊息傳遞。對於溫蒂漢堡來說，維持品牌知名度至關重要。我們大幅提高了社群媒體互動，這種影響力終將隨著時間的推移轉化為流量。

As we continue to incorporate learnings to enhance the menu, strengthen our marketing calendar and improved messaging and media effectiveness, we expect momentum to build sequentially as we move through 2026.

隨著我們不斷吸取經驗教訓來改進菜單、加強行銷計劃、提高訊息傳遞和媒體效果，我們預計到 2026 年，發展動能將逐步增強。

Moving on to our next two pillars of Project Fresh, operational excellence and system optimization, both of which are centered on elevating the customer experience and improving franchisee economics. Well-run restaurants drive sales and profitability, and our US company-operated restaurants continue to serve as a powerful proof point that demonstrates the benefits of strong operational execution.

接下來，我們來看看「新專案」的另外兩個支柱：卓越營運和系統優化，這兩個支柱都以提升客戶體驗和改善加盟商經濟效益為中心。營運良好的餐廳能夠帶動銷售額和獲利能力，而我們美國公司自營的餐廳則繼續有力地證明了強大的營運執行力所帶來的益處。

Our US company-operated restaurants outperformed the overall system by 310 basis points in 2025, demonstrating that when we execute with excellence, our customers respond. Throughout the year, our operational initiatives drove improvements in customer satisfaction scores, including accuracy, taste and friendliness.

2025 年，我們美國公司自營餐廳的業績比整個系統高出 310 個基點，這表明，當我們出色地執行時，我們的客戶就會做出積極的回應。在過去一年中，我們的營運措施推動了客戶滿意度評分的提高，包括準確性、口味和友好程度。

Operational excellence starts with what we call people activation, which is about having the right capabilities and experience in our restaurants. We completed this initiative across US company-operated restaurants last year, which strengthened our company-operated restaurant teams, and we have been sharing these learnings with franchisees.

卓越營運始於我們所說的“人員賦能”，即在我們的餐廳中擁有合適的技能和經驗。去年，我們在全美公司自營餐廳完成了這項計劃，這加強了我們公司自營餐廳的團隊，我們一直在與加盟商分享這些經驗。

We've made progress on rolling out enhanced training and have implemented a new learning management system specifically designed for restaurant employees. We are partnering with franchisees to extend the performance management strategy implemented at US company-operated restaurants more broadly across the system. This ensures accountability to a consistent cycle of planning, managing and evaluating operational performance by restaurant teams to improve the customer experience.

我們在推廣密集培訓方面取得了進展，並實施了專為餐飲員工設計的新型學習管理系統。我們正與加盟商合作，將美國公司直營餐廳實施的績效管理策略更廣泛地推廣到整個系統中。這確保了餐廳團隊對規劃、管理和評估營運績效的持續循環負責，從而改善顧客體驗。

Our field operations team is central to scaling people activation and enhanced training across the US system. Based on the benefits we saw last year, we're further expanding our field operations team in 2026, allowing them to spend more time in restaurants, providing greater support, coaching and training in close partnership with franchisees.

我們的現場營運團隊對於擴大美國體系內的人員活化和強化培訓至關重要。根據我們去年看到的收益，我們將在 2026 年進一步擴大我們的現場營運團隊，使他們能夠花更多的時間在餐廳，與加盟商緊密合作，提供更大的支援、指導和培訓。

Our franchisees have responded positively to these operational initiatives, recognizing their direct benefit to customer satisfaction and sales. We expect further adoption of these initiatives to positively impact results as we move through 2026. We're also continuing to add capabilities to our restaurant technology that will make it easier for our restaurant teams to execute with excellence.

我們的加盟商對這些營運措施給予了正面的回應，他們意識到這些措施對提高客戶滿意度和銷售額有直接的好處。我們預計，隨著這些措施在 2026 年的推進，它們的進一步實施將對業績產生正面影響。我們也不斷增強餐廳技術的功能，這將使我們的餐廳團隊更輕鬆地出色地完成工作。

We're focused on improving order accuracy, a critical driver of customer satisfaction, and this month, we'll begin rolling out software enhancements to our kitchen order screens to streamline the preparation process and make it easier for our restaurant teams to deliver the right order every time.

我們致力於提高訂單準確率，這是提升顧客滿意度的關鍵因素。本月，我們將開始對廚房訂單螢幕進行軟體改進，以簡化準備流程，使我們的餐廳團隊每次都能更輕鬆地交付正確的訂單。

We're also completing an initiative to modernize our restaurant technology architecture, enabling a substantial increase in product and promotion testing, reducing deployment time lines for new product launches and allowing us to bring innovation to life faster and more efficiently across the system.

我們也正在完成餐廳技術架構現代化計劃，這將大幅增加產品和促銷測試，縮短新產品上市的部署時間，並使我們能夠在整個系統中更快、更有效率地將創新變為現實。

Turning to system optimization, which is about having the right footprint in each market to improve franchisee economics and enhance the customer experience. By closing consistently underperforming restaurants, we are enabling our franchisee partners to increase focus on locations with the greatest potential for profitable growth.

接下來是系統優化，即在每個市場擁有合適的佈局，以改善加盟商的經濟效益並提升客戶體驗。透過關閉業績持續不佳的餐廳，我們能夠讓我們的加盟合作夥伴將更多精力集中在最具獲利成長潛力的門市上。

Since we announced this program in November, we have been working with our franchisees to evaluate restaurants on a store-by-store basis and make collaborative decisions to optimize performance across the US system as One Wendy's. Under this program, we expect approximately 5% to 6% of US restaurants to close, including 28 restaurant closures that occurred during the fourth quarter of 2025 with the remaining closures expected during the first half of 2026.

自 11 月宣布該計劃以來，我們一直與加盟商合作，逐店評估餐廳，並共同做出決策，以優化整個美國系統（即「一個 Wendy's」）的表現。根據該計劃，我們預計美國將有大約 5% 到 6% 的餐館倒閉，其中包括 2025 年第四季度倒閉的 28 家餐館，其餘餐館預計將在 2026 年上半年倒閉。

We are also working with franchisees to better align operating hours to demand, particularly for the morning daypart. While many restaurants perform well at breakfast, we recognize it may not work in every restaurant as certain markets have customer dynamics that do not support a thriving breakfast business.

我們也與加盟商合作，更好地調整營業時間以滿足需求，特別是上午時段的需求。雖然許多餐廳的早餐生意都不錯，但我們也意​​識到，早餐生意可能不適合所有餐廳，因為某些市場的顧客群並不適合發展繁榮的早餐業務。

To strengthen franchisee profitability, we're providing more flexibility around operating hours for the morning daypart, which allows them to reallocate resources towards the greatest potential for growth across daytime, evening and late night occasions. This positions the morning daypart to perform where it matters most, delivering greater value for customers, while supporting franchisee profitability, and we continue to believe that breakfast is an important daypart for the US system.

為了提高加盟商的獲利能力，我們為上午時段的營業時間提供了更大的靈活性，使他們能夠將資源重新分配到白天、晚上和深夜時段，以實現最大的成長潛力。這使得早餐時段能夠在最重要的時刻發揮作用，為顧客帶來更大的價值，同時支持加盟商的獲利能力，我們仍然認為早餐是美國體系中一個重要的時段。

Moving forward, we will provide updates on our progress. The fourth pillar of Project Fresh is disciplined capital allocation, prioritizing investments with the highest return opportunities while sustaining our international expansion momentum.

接下來，我們將定期向大家報告進度。「新鮮計畫」的第四個支柱是嚴格的資本配置，優先考慮回報機會最高的投資，同時保持我們的國際擴張勢頭。

We are redeploying resources from US development initiatives towards driving profitable AUV growth. This includes investments in field team resources to better support operational excellence in our restaurants, restaurant technology to improve workflow and digital infrastructure investments to improve our data capabilities that support marketing effectiveness, and digital mix growth.

我們將把美國發展計畫的資源重新部署到推動獲利AUV成長。這包括對現場團隊資源的投資，以更好地支持我們餐廳的卓越營運；對餐廳技術的投資，以改善工作流程；以及對數位基礎設施的投資，以提高我們的數據能力，從而支持行銷效果和數位組合的成長。

We also remain committed to returning cash to shareholders through our quarterly dividend. This balanced capital allocation strategy ensures we're investing in the growth initiatives that will drive long-term value creation, while maintaining our commitment to shareholder returns.

我們將繼續致力於透過季度分紅向股東返還現金。這種平衡的資本配置策略確保我們投資於能夠推動長期價值創造的成長計劃，同時保持我們對股東回報的承諾。

We are acting with urgency to execute our Project Fresh turnaround plan. While turnarounds take time, we're making bold decisions together as One Wendy's that will create a better future for all stakeholders.

我們正緊急執行「煥新計畫」轉虧為盈方案。雖然扭轉局面需要時間，但作為一家溫蒂漢堡公司，我們正在共同做出大膽的決定，這將為所有利益相關者創造更美好的未來。

Now turning to our outlook. 2026 is a rebuilding year, centered on the initiatives of our turnaround plan. Our outlook reflects the results of the decisions that we're making to strengthen the system and position the business for long-term success.

現在談談我們的展望。 2026年是重建之年，重點是我們轉虧為盈計畫中的各項舉措。我們的展望反映了我們為加強體系、為企業長期成功奠定基礎所做的決策所帶來的成果。

We expect improvement in our performance as Project Fresh initiatives take hold. Our outlook also reflects the impact of a 53 week, planned system optimization actions, including restaurant closures and the optimization of operating hours, and the impact of challenging weather in the first quarter. As a result, we anticipate global system-wide sales to be approximately flat to the prior year and expect US same-restaurant sales to improve as we move throughout 2026.

我們預期隨著「新鮮項目」各項措施的落實，我們的業績將會得到改善。我們的展望也反映了為期 53 週的規劃系統優化措施的影響，包括餐廳關閉和優化營業時間，以及第一季惡劣天氣的影響。因此，我們預計全球系統銷售額將與上年基本持平，並預計隨著 2026 年的推進，美國同店銷售額將有所改善。

Moving to International. Our International business remains an important growth engine, and we're building on the strong momentum we achieved in 2025. We expect continued robust net unit growth and anticipate approximately the same number of international net new units in 2026 as in 2025. We anticipate adjusted EBITDA to range from $460 million to $480 million, which reflects the impact of system optimization and higher G&A expense compared to the prior year, driven by a reset of incentive and stock compensation.

移至國際版。我們的國際業務仍然是重要的成長引擎，我們將在 2025 年取得的強勁勢頭基礎上繼續發展。我們預計淨新增單元數量將持續保持強勁成長，並預計 2026 年國際淨新增單元數量與 2025 年大致相同。我們預計調整後的 EBITDA 將在 4.6 億美元至 4.8 億美元之間，這反映了系統優化和與前一年相比更高的 G&A 費用的影響，而 G&A 費用的增加是由於激勵和股票薪酬的重置所致。

We expect adjusted EPS in the range of $0.56 to $0.60 per share. Finally, we expect free cash flow of $190 million to $205 million.

我們預計調整後每股收益在 0.56 美元至 0.60 美元之間。最後，我們預期自由現金流為 1.9 億美元至 2.05 億美元。

Before I close, I'll turn it over to Suzie to provide more details on our fourth quarter results and outlook. Suzie, over to you.

最後，我將把發言權交給蘇西，讓她詳細介紹我們第四季的業績和展望。蘇西，該你了。

Thank you, Ken, and good morning, everyone. I'll begin with our fourth quarter results, then provide more details on our outlook for 2026 before closing with our capital allocation priorities. In the fourth quarter, global system-wide sales declined 8.3% on a constant currency basis and US same-restaurant sales declined 11.3%, driven by marketing spend, which was down significantly in addition to a tough comp with our Spongebob collaboration in the prior year. This was partially offset by continued strength in our International business with system-wide sales growth of 6.2%.

謝謝你，肯，大家早安。我將先介紹我們第四季的業績，然後詳細介紹我們對 2026 年的展望，最後闡述我們的資本配置重點。第四季度，全球系統銷售額以固定匯率計算下降了 8.3%，美國同店銷售額下降了 11.3%，主要原因是行銷支出大幅下降，此外，去年同期與海綿寶寶的合作也造成了較大的基數效應。國際業務的持續強勁成長部分抵消了這一影響，系統銷售額成長了 6.2%。

The decline in US same-restaurant sales was driven by a decrease in traffic, partially offset by a higher average check. Same-restaurant sales at our US company-operated restaurants outperformed the US system by 410 basis points, driven by improvements in customer experience.

美國同店銷售額下降是由於客流量減少所致，但平均客單價上漲部分抵銷了這一影響。在美國，我們公司自營餐廳的同店銷售額比美國系統高出 410 個基點，主要得益於顧客體驗的改善。

Many of our franchisees have already begun implementing operational improvements, and we're making progress scaling these initiatives across the broader system as we execute on our Project Fresh turnaround plan. The outperformance at company-operated restaurants was also supported by strong delivery growth and benefits from the continued rollout of digital menu boards and fresh AI automated ordering technology.

我們的許多加盟商已經開始實施營運改善措施，隨著我們執行「新鮮項目」扭虧為盈計劃，我們正在逐步將這些舉措推廣到整個系統中，並取得了進展。公司自營餐廳的優異表現也得益於外送業務的強勁成長，以及數位菜單板和人工智慧自動點餐技術的持續推廣所帶來的益處。

Our US digital sales grew 2% compared to the prior year, driven by continued growth in our loyalty program, bringing US digital mix to an all-time high of 20.6% in the fourth quarter.

與去年同期相比，我們的美國數位銷售額成長了 2%，這主要得益於我們忠誠度計畫的持續成長，使得美國數位銷售額佔比在第四季度達到了歷史新高 20.6%。

Shifting to our International segment. The Wendy's brand continued to demonstrate strong momentum globally, delivering system-wide sales growth of 6.2% in the fourth quarter, driven by new restaurant openings across key growth markets. Growth was led by Asia Pacific and Latin America with strong performance in key markets such as the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

接下來轉到我們的國際業務區。溫蒂漢堡品牌在全球範圍內繼續保持強勁的成長勢頭，第四季度系統銷售額增長了 6.2%，這主要得益於在主要增長市場開設新餐廳。亞太和拉丁美洲引領了成長，其中菲律賓和波多黎各等重點市場表現強勁。

We continue to see healthy underlying brand strength in Canada, gaining share in the QSR burger category throughout the year despite broader QSR traffic softness and a challenging competitive environment during the fourth quarter. Overall, our International results underscore the strength of our global growth model, enabled by the investments we are making in regional capabilities, which continue to drive a robust development pipeline.

儘管第四季速食業整體客流量疲軟，競爭環境充滿挑戰，我們仍看到加拿大市場品牌實力強勁，全年快餐漢堡品類市場份額持續成長。整體而言，我們的國際業績凸顯了我們全球成長模式的優勢，這得益於我們對區域能力的投資，這些投資持續推動著強勁的發展勢頭。

Now moving to the P&L for the fourth quarter. Total adjusted revenue was $439.6 million, a decrease of $19.7 million compared to the prior year. This was driven by lower franchise royalty revenue due to the decline in US same-restaurant sales as well as lower franchise fees. Global company-operated restaurant margin was 12.1% for the fourth quarter, and US company-operated restaurant margin was 12.7%.

現在來看第四季的損益表。調整後的總收入為 4.396 億美元，比上年減少了 1,970 萬美元。這是由於美國同店銷售額下降導致特許經營權使用費收入減少以及特許經營費降低所致。第四季全球公司自營餐廳利潤率為 12.1%，美國公司自營餐廳利潤率為 12.7%。

US company-operated restaurant margin declined compared to the prior year, primarily due to a decline in traffic, commodity inflation and labor rate inflation. These were partially offset by an increase in average check and labor efficiencies. Adjusted EBITDA was $113.3 million, which was down $24.2 million versus the prior year, primarily driven by lower net franchise fees, lower franchise royalty revenue and the decrease in company-operated restaurant margin. Adjusted earnings per share was $0.16 in the fourth quarter.

與前一年相比，美國公司自營餐廳的利潤率下降，主要原因是客流量下降、大宗商品價格上漲和勞動成本上漲。這些不利因素部分被平均消費額的提高和勞動效率的提升所抵消。調整後的 EBITDA 為 1.133 億美元，比前一年減少了 2,420 萬美元，主要原因是淨特許經營費減少、特許經營權使用費收入減少以及公司自營餐廳利潤率下降。第四季調整後每股收益為0.16美元。

Moving on to cash flow and our balance sheet. On a full year basis in 2025, we invested $140.3 million across capital expenditures and our build-to-suit development program. Capital expenditures included $52.4 million in technology initiatives such as digital menu boards and continued investments in our app and digital capabilities to enhance the customer experience and enable more targeted effective marketing. We also invested $69.6 million in restaurant development across company-operated new builds and investments in our build-to-suit program.

接下來我們來看現金流量和資產負債表。2025 年全年，我們在資本支出和客製化開發計畫中投資了 1.403 億美元。資本支出包括 5,240 萬美元用於技術創新，例如數位菜單板，以及持續投資於我們的應用程式和數位能力，以增強客戶體驗並實現更有針對性的有效行銷。我們還投資了 6,960 萬美元用於餐廳開發，包括公司自營的新餐廳和客製化建造項目。

Turning to free cash flow. We generated $205.4 million of free cash flow for the full year. Our free cash flow enables us to fund strategic investments, while continuing to return capital to shareholders. Through the end of fiscal year 2025, we repurchased 14.4 million shares for approximately $200 million. In total, we returned $330 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, an increase of over $48 million compared to the prior year.

接下來討論自由現金流。我們全年共創造了 2.054 億美元的自由現金流。我們的自由現金流使我們能夠為策略投資提供資金，同時繼續向股東返還資本。截至 2025 財年結束，我們回購了 1,440 萬股股票，總金額約 2 億美元。我們透過分紅和股票回購總共向股東返還了 3.3 億美元，比前一年增加了 4,800 多萬美元。

In the fourth quarter, we issued $450 million of whole business securitization notes using the proceeds to repay $50 million of debt, which matured in December of 2025 and refinanced $350 million of securitization notes maturing in September of 2026.

第四季度，我們發行了 4.5 億美元的整體業務證券化票據，利用所得款項償還了 5000 萬美元的債務（該債務將於 2025 年 12 月到期），並為 3.5 億美元的證券化票據（將於 2026 年 9 月到期）進行了再融資。

The weighted average interest rate for the newly issued notes is 5.4%. We ended the year with $340 million of cash on the balance sheet and a net leverage ratio of 4.8 times.

新發行票據的加權平均利率為 5.4%。年底時，我們的資產負債表上有 3.4 億美元的現金，淨槓桿比率為 4.8 倍。

Now turning to our financial outlook for 2026, which reflects the 53 week in the fiscal year as well as the impact of the actions we are taking today to execute against our strategic plan that will drive long-term profitable growth. We expect global system-wide sales to be approximately flat for the full year.

現在轉向我們對 2026 年的財務展望，這反映了本財年的第 53 週，以及我們今天為執行戰略計劃而採取的行動所產生的影響，這些戰略計劃將推動長期盈利增長。我們預計全年全球系統銷售額將基本持平。

This reflects roughly 2% growth from base business improvements and international expansion and a 2% benefit from the 53 week, offset by a 4% impact from our system optimization initiatives. Turning to the shape of the year. We anticipate US same-restaurant sales for the first quarter to be down year-over-year with sequential improvement throughout the year as initiatives to revitalize the brand and improve operations begin to take hold.

這反映了基礎業務改進和國際擴張帶來的約 2% 的成長，以及第 53 週帶來的 2% 的收益，但被我們的系統優化計劃帶來的 4% 的影響所抵消。轉而展望今年的局勢。我們預計第一季美國同店銷售額將年減，但隨著重振品牌和改善營運的舉措開始奏效，全年將逐步改善。

We expect US company-operated restaurant margin of 13%, plus or minus 50 basis points. This includes our outlook for labor inflation of approximately 4% and a commodity cost increase of approximately 4%, reflecting the continued inflation in beef prices as well as investments to improve the quality of our products, including upgraded chicken fillets and new buns.

我們預期美國公司自營餐廳的利潤率為 13%，上下浮動 50 個基點。這包括我們對勞動力通膨率約為 4% 和商品成本上漲約 4% 的預期，反映了牛肉價格的持續上漲，以及為提高產品品質而進行的投資，包括升級雞胸肉片和新麵包。

We expect G&A to be approximately $295 million. The increase versus the prior year is primarily driven by resetting our incentive compensation plan and higher stock compensation as we lap the favorable impact from the departure of the company's previous CEO in 2025. We expect adjusted EBITDA of $460 million to $480 million, reflecting the resetting of incentive and stock compensation and the impact of lower adjusted revenues related to our system optimization initiatives.

我們預計一般及行政費用約為 2.95 億美元。與前一年相比，成長的主要原因是調整了激勵性薪酬計劃，以及由於公司前任執行長於 2025 年離職，我們不得不逐步消除其帶來的有利影響，因此提高了股票薪酬。我們預計調整後的 EBITDA 為 4.6 億美元至 4.8 億美元，這反映了激勵和股票薪酬的重置以及與我們的系統優化計劃相關的調整後收入下降的影響。

Below the operating line, we expect approximately $140 million of interest expense, reflecting the impact of debt refinancing in the fourth quarter of 2025 as well as a tax rate of approximately 30%. Taking all of these items into account, we expect adjusted EPS in the range of $0.56 to $0.60 per share.

在營運成本線以下，我們預計利息支出約為 1.4 億美元，這反映了 2025 年第四季債務再融資的影響以及約 30% 的稅率。綜合考慮以上因素，我們預計調整後每股收益在 0.56 美元至 0.60 美元之間。

Free cash flow is expected to be between $190 million and $205 million, reflecting disciplined capital allocation, including capital expenditures and build-to-suit investments between $120 million and $130 million.

預計自由現金流在 1.9 億美元至 2.05 億美元之間，這反映了嚴格的資本配置，其中包括 1.2 億美元至 1.3 億美元的資本支出和客製化建設投資。

Moving on to capital allocation. Our first priority continues to be investing in the business. As we've outlined in our Project Fresh initiatives, this means prioritizing AUV growth in the US and net unit development internationally. As a result, we're reducing capital allocated to our build-to-suit development program by approximately $20 million compared to the prior year.

接下來討論資本配置。我們的首要任務仍然是投資於業務發展。正如我們在「Project Fresh」計畫中所概述的那樣，這意味著優先考慮美國AUV的成長和國際淨單位發展。因此，與前一年相比，我們將減少分配給客製化開發項目的資金約 2000 萬美元。

Our second capital allocation priority is paying an attractive dividend. And today, we announced our regular quarterly dividend payment of $0.14 per share, reinforcing the importance of the dividend within our capital allocation approach.

我們第二大資本配置重點在於支付有吸引力的股息。今天，我們宣布了每股 0.14 美元的常規季度股息支付，這進一步強調了股息在我們資本配置方法中的重要性。

Our third priority is maintaining a strong balance sheet. We continue to target a net leverage ratio of 3.5 times to 5 times adjusted EBITDA. We do anticipate remaining near the top end of our range in 2026. As we implement our Project Fresh initiatives but expect a natural reduction in our leverage ratio over time as we realize the benefits of our turnaround.

我們的第三個優先事項是保持穩健的資產負債表。我們繼續將淨槓桿率目標設定為調整後 EBITDA 的 3.5 倍至 5 倍。我們預計 2026 年將保持在預期範圍的高端附近。在我們實施「煥新計畫」的過程中，隨著我們逐步實現扭虧為盈的效益，我們預期槓桿率會隨著時間的推移而自然下降。

Our fourth priority is returning excess cash to shareholders through opportunistic share repurchases. We currently have approximately $35 million remaining on our existing share repurchase authorization that expires in February 2027.

我們的第四項優先事項是透過擇機回購股票，將多餘的現金回饋給股東。我們目前還有大約 3,500 萬美元的現有股票回購授權額度，該授權將於 2027 年 2 月到期。

In closing, our fourth quarter results aligned with our expectations for a challenging quarter. We will maintain financial discipline to support the company and franchisees as we advance our turnaround efforts. We are taking deliberate actions to strengthen our financial foundation and position the system for improved performance and long-term value creation for our shareholders. With that, I'll now turn it back to Ken.

綜上所述，我們第四季的業績符合我們對充滿挑戰的第四季的預期。我們將保持財務紀律，以支持公司和加盟商，並推進我們的扭虧為盈計畫。我們正在採取審慎的措施來加強我們的財務基礎，並使系統能夠提高業績，為股東創造長期價值。好了，現在我把麥克風交還給肯。

Thank you, Suzie. 2026 will be a rebuilding year, and I am confident that we will execute on our Project Fresh initiatives to strengthen our foundation and position Wendy's for long-term success while delivering strong growth in our International business. We are focused on controlling what we can control and leaning into what Wendy's can do better than anybody else, delivering the highest quality food in QSR.

謝謝你，蘇西。 2026年將是重建之年，我相信我們將成功執行「新鮮項目」各項舉措，鞏固我們的基礎，使溫蒂漢堡能夠取得長期成功，同時在國際業務方面實現強勁增長。我們專注於控制我們能夠控制的事情，並發揮 Wendy's 的優勢，提供快餐行業最高品質的食品。

We have all the ingredients needed to be successful, an iconic brand, a great team, passionate franchisees, improved capabilities and a strategic action plan to deliver results. I'll now hand it over to Aaron to share our upcoming Investor Relations calendar.

我們擁有成功所需的一切要素：標誌性品牌、優秀的團隊、充滿熱情的加盟商、不斷提升的能力、實現目標的策略行動計畫。現在我將把發言權交給 Aaron，讓他來介紹我們即將舉行的投資者關係活動日程。

Thank you, Ken. On March 10, we will participate in the Citibank Global Consumer and Retail Conference in Miami. And on March 11, we will be in New York City for the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference. If you are interested in joining us at one of these events, please contact the respective sell-side analyst or equity sales contact at the host firm. We will now transition to the Q&A part of the call. Due to the high number of covering analysts, please limit yourself to one question only.

謝謝你，肯。3月10日，我們將參加在邁阿密舉行的花旗銀行全球消費者和零售大會。3月11日，我們將前往紐約市參加瑞銀全球消費者和零售大會。如果您有興趣參加這些活動，請聯絡主辦公司對應的賣方分析師或股票銷售聯絡人。接下來我們將進入問答環節。由於負責此領域的分析師人數眾多，請您只提一個問題。

(Operator Instructions) David Palmer, Evercore ISI.

（操作說明）David Palmer，Evercore ISI。

That's a great detail on this call. I guess when it comes to operations at digital, you have a lot of initiatives there. But I feel like when it comes to turnarounds in this space, it really comes down to that initial jolt around marketing and menu, and you had pretty good idea towards the end of this last year with the tenders. And it felt like a pretty good product.

這是這通通話中的一個重要細節。我想，在數位化營運方面，你們有很多措施。但我覺得，在這個領域，要想扭轉局面，關鍵在於最初的行銷和菜單方面的革新，而你在去年年底推出的雞柳就很好地體現了這一點。感覺這是一款相當不錯的產品。

And so I'm just wondering how you're thinking about this year, the approach, the ideas, the execution on the marketing side, help us imagine how things are going to evolve there in ways that you think might be more effective.

所以我想知道您對今年的計劃、方法、想法以及行銷方面的執行情況有什麼看法，請幫助我們設想一下，您認為哪些方面會更加有效，哪些方面會發展得更好。

Yes. Great question, David. So I'll start by talking a little bit about what gives us confidence that the turnaround plan will work. The results that we delivered are well below our potential, for sure. But we have all the ingredients need to be successful.

是的。問得好，大衛。那麼，我先來談談是什麼讓我們有信心這項扭虧為盈計畫會奏效。可以肯定的是，我們取得的成績遠低於我們的潛力。但我們具備成功所需的一切要素。

We have an iconic brand, the term employees, passionate franchisees, better data visibility and capabilities than we've ever had. We have great food, and we're approaching that all with a One Wendy's mindset.

我們擁有標誌性品牌、優秀的員工、充滿熱情的加盟商，以及比以往任何時候都更好的數據可見度和能力。我們有很棒的食物，而且我們始終秉持著「一個溫蒂漢堡」的理念來對待這一切。

Secondly, we understand the problem. We got away from what made us great. We allowed ops to drift, and we focus too much on sales overnight and discounting versus brand over time. We made some decisions that optimize the short term, but we're changing all that. We now have a clear North Star, which is our brand essence, and that will help us reestablish Wendy's as the highest quality hamburger in QSR.

其次，我們了解這個問題。我們背離了那些讓我們偉大的東西。我們放任營運偏離正軌，過於注重一夜致富和折扣，而忽略了品牌建設的長期發展。我們之前做出了一些有利於短期利益的決定，但我們正在改變這一切。我們現在有了明確的北極星，那就是我們的品牌精髓，這將幫助我們重新確立 Wendy's 作為快餐店中最高品質漢堡的地位。

Also, we're executing the right plan, Project Fresh. In terms of revitalizing the brand, we know who drives our business, and we know how to bring them in. We do have a new approach to both menu and messaging that you've already seen take hold in 2026.

此外，我們正在執行正確的計劃，即「新鮮項目」。在重振品牌方面，我們知道誰是推動我們業務發展的關鍵人物，我們也知道如何吸引他們加入。我們在菜單和資訊傳遞方面都有一種新方法，您已經看到這種方法在 2026 年開始實施。

And we're focused on ops deploying the playbook that we use to improve operational excellence in our company restaurants to the system. Additionally, we're making the right long-term decisions in terms of system optimization, optimizing our restaurant footprint, which will help improve franchisee economics. So turnarounds take time. We'll see the ops metrics change first, followed by brand metrics and then traffic and sales.

我們專注於運營，將我們用於提升公司餐廳營運效率的策略手冊部署到系統中。此外，我們在系統優化和餐廳佈局優化方面做出了正確的長期決策，這將有助於改善加盟商的經濟效益。所以周轉需要時間。我們將首先看到營運指標發生變化，然後是品牌指標，最後是流量和銷售額。

In terms of the calendar approach, which you mentioned, what's going to be different. There are going to be lot of things that are going to be different. We have a new menu calendar framework. We've divided the year into eight periods to make sure we provide sufficient new news throughout the calendar. We're marrying that up with top-of-mind culture events to make sure we stay socially and culturally relevant to our customers, and we're focused on the target segments. We did a lot of customer segmentation work.

關於您提到的日曆方法，會有哪些不同？很多事情都會改變。我們推出了新的菜單日曆框架。我們將一年分為八個階段，以確保在整個日曆年中都能提供足夠的新聞。我們將此與最受關注的文化活動相結合，以確保我們在社會和文化上與我們的客戶保持相關性，並且我們專注於目標群體。我們做了大量的客戶細分工作。

We now know who drives our business, and we know who to focus on, and we know who not to focus on. So both those pieces are important. One learning from 2025 around value. We swung the pendulum too far towards limited time price promotions instead of everyday value. We had this fantastic biggy platform that we've now made even better with our Biggie deals platform around $4, $6 and $8, multiple price points, giving consumers more choice.

我們現在知道誰在推動我們的業務發展，我們知道應該關注誰，也知道不應該關注誰。所以這兩方面都很重要。從2025年汲取關於價值的經驗教訓。我們矯枉過正，過於注重限時價格促銷，而忽略了日常價值。我們之前有一個非常棒的大宗商品平台，現在我們透過大宗商品交易平台讓它變得更好，價格在 4 美元、6 美元和 8 美元左右，多種價格點，為消費者提供更多選擇。

And we will continue to upgrade the quality on our menu across the board. We have new chicken sandwiches rolling out. We're going to do some things on the hamburger side and a lot more hamburger innovation. If you look back at 2025, we had zero hamburger innovation in 2025. That is changing in 2026, starting actually next week with the launch of our new Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger.

我們將繼續全面提升菜單上的菜色品質。我們即將推出新款雞肉三明治。我們將在漢堡包方面做一些事情，並進行更多漢堡包的創新。回顧 2025 年，我們會發現 2025 年漢堡領域沒有任何創新。這種情況將在 2026 年發生改變，實際上從下週開始，我們將推出全新的起司培根起司漢堡。

So a lot of things are different. We're learning a lot and applying those learnings as quickly as possible.

所以很多方面都不同了。我們正在學習很多東西，並儘快將這些知識應用到實踐中。

Jake Bartlett, Truist.

Jake Bartlett，Truist。

I'm hoping you can expand on that a little bit. And in some of the learnings, you work with Creed Onco, the segmentation study that you did. What did you learn maybe a little more specifically that you didn't know before in terms of who your target customer is, and who you thought it was before, and who it actually is, and how that's informing the approach going forward.

我希望你能再詳細解釋一下。在一些學習成果中，你與 Creed Onco 合作進行了一項細分研究。就目標客戶是誰、你之前認為的目標客戶是誰、以及實際的目標客戶是誰而言，你有沒有更具體地了解到一些以前不知道的資訊？這些資訊將如何影響未來的策略？

Ken, you mentioned that we've already seen some of the changes to the approach. I just -- maybe just remind us what we've seen so far on that front? Or are you kind of referring to what's going to -- what we're going to see next week with the launch of the new burgers and the raft.

肯，你提到我們已經看到了一些方法上的改變。我只是──或許只是想提醒大家一下，到目前為止我們在這方面看到了什麼？還是你指的是下週即將推出的新漢堡和木筏嗎？

Yes. Thanks for the question, Jake. In terms of the customer segmentation study, that was the first phase of the Creed Onco engagement. So first phase and foundational in terms of a proven playbook. We completed that study in December.

是的。謝謝你的提問，傑克。就客戶細分研究而言，這是 Creed Onco 合作的第一階段。所以，這是第一階段，也是奠定基礎的階段，需要一套行之有效的策略。我們在12月完成了這項研究。

And the good news is Wendy's does have a very strong brand perception, very strong. But from a customer perspective, this -- the needs-based approach helps us move beyond the what to the why.

好消息是，Wendy's 的品牌認知度非常高，非常高。但從客戶的角度來看，這種基於需求的方法可以幫助我們從「是什麼」轉向「為什麼」。

So segmenting customers based on need, why they are coming to Wendy's. Is it the quality of our food? Is it the price? Is it the abundance, convenience, snacking, what occasion are they coming in for? Is it for a dinner with family for a frosty to celebrate a kid's game, all of those things, better understanding the why.

因此，要根據需求對顧客進行細分，了解他們為什麼會光顧 Wendy's。是食物品質的問題嗎？是價格問題嗎？是因為商品種類豐富、方便快速、喜歡零食，還是因為什麼原因他們來這裡購物？是為了和家人一起吃頓飯，還是為了喝杯冰飲料慶祝孩子的比賽？所有這些事情，更好地理解其中的原因。

Then that allows us to value the segments and divide them up into who is our primary target, who is our secondary and who should we not focus on at all because they represent very small pieces of our overall customer base. This validated some things we already knew and did provide some new insights. But it helped us put the spotlight on so what?

這樣一來，我們就可以對各個細分市場進行估值，並將它們劃分為主要目標客戶、次要目標客戶以及我們根本不應該關注的客戶，因為他們只占我們整體客戶群的一小部分。這驗證了我們已知的一些事情，同時也提供了一些新的見解。但這幫助我們把焦點放在了「那又怎樣？」這個問題上。

What are we going to do about these things, a couple of learnings and validations from the study where a big segment of our customers come to Wendy's for an everyday quality upgrade, especially hamburgers and our fresh never frozen beef.

我們該如何應對這些情況？這項研究得出了一些經驗和驗證，其中很大一部分顧客光顧 Wendy's 是為了日常享受更高品質的食品，尤其是漢堡包和我們新鮮的、從未冷凍過的牛肉。

When we look back at 2025, we had zero hamburger innovation. We didn't talk about our hamburgers, and we didn't innovate on those. So that's changing this year. We're going to have several hamburger premium hamburger LTOs starting next week with the launch of our Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger.

當我們回顧2025年時，我們會發現漢堡領域沒有任何創新。我們沒有談論我們的漢堡包，也沒有在漢堡包方面進行創新。所以今年情況會有所改變。從下週開始，我們將推出幾款限時供應的優質漢堡，首先推出的是我們的起司培根起司漢堡。

So that's a learning. That's a big difference. We also will be making quality upgrades across the menu. In a couple of months, we'll launch our new and improved chicken sandwich lineup, so both classic and specie. Really excited about that, giving customers this everyday upgrade compared to what they can get from the competition.

這是個教訓。這可是很大的差別。我們還將對菜單上的所有菜餚進行品質升級。幾個月後，我們將推出全新升級的雞肉三明治系列，包括經典款和特色款。對此我感到非常興奮，因為這能讓顧客每天都能享受到比競爭對手提供的更好的體驗。

Another learning was a big segment of our population comes to Wendy's for our fries. The sweet and savory aspect, our fries, our frosties, and this snacking occasion. So again, reflecting backwards, that helps explain why Girl Scout Thin Mint, was such a success in 2025. We also have a new and improved collaboration with Girl Scout Think Mint Frosty, launching next week. So really excited about that. And we will incorporate some of this sweet and savory dynamics in our March Madness campaign here next month.

另一個發現是，我們很大一部分人來 Wendy's 就是為了吃薯條。甜鹹交織的美味，我們的薯條，我們的冰淇淋，以及這種休閒零食的場合。所以，反過來想想，這也有助於解釋為什麼女童子軍薄荷巧克力餅乾在 2025 年會如此成功。我們與 Girl Scout Think Mint Frosty 的全新升級合作也將於下週推出。我真的非常興奮。下個月，我們將把這些甜蜜與鹹香的元素融入我們的「三月瘋狂」宣傳活動中。

And then $4, $6, $8 that snacking behavior did help inform the construct of our new Biggie deal platform. putting that $4 price point in there. So if you're coming to Wendy's, and you don't want a full meal, you want to get a quick snack, you can do that through that price point, but also having a for people who want more abundance, more value was really important.

然後是4美元、6美元、8美元，這些零食消費行為確實幫助我們建立了新的Biggie優惠平台，並將4美元的價格點放了進去。所以，如果你來 Wendy's，不想吃正餐，只想吃點小吃，這個價位就能滿足你的需求；但同時，為那些想要更多選擇、更多價值的人提供更多選擇也非常重要。

Another confirmation was really a large percentage of visits to Wendy's are unplanned. When somebody leaves the parking lot or their driveway, they don't know where they're going to eat, and so that highlighted the importance to us to keep Wendy's top of mind and make sure we're in their consideration set.

另一個佐證是，去 Wendy's 的顧客中確實有很大一部分是計劃外的。當人們離開停車場或自家車道時，他們並不知道接下來要去哪裡吃飯，因此，這凸顯了讓我們始終將 Wendy's 放在首位，並確保我們進入他們的考慮範圍的重要性。

So you've seen us significantly increase our social activity to help drive awareness. So we stay in the consideration set when people are coming to Wendy's. As importantly as who we are going to focus on, then we look at where we're not going to focus. So there's a very small portion of our customers are considered what I would call adventurous heaters.

所以你們已經看到我們大幅增加了社群媒體活動，以幫助提高公眾意識。因此，當人們來到Wendy's餐廳時，我們始終在他們的考慮範圍之內。與確定關注對象同樣重要的是，我們還要考慮不關注哪些面向。因此，只有極小一部分客戶被認為是那種喜歡嘗試新奇暖爐的用戶。

So these people want very unique flavor profiles, kind of extreme innovation. And again, they represent a very, very small percentage of our total, we shouldn't focus on them. When we look backward at 2025, some of the collaborations we did were focused on this segment of the population and weren't broadly healing enough to significantly move the needle for us. So we're going to move away from that.

所以這些人想要非常獨特的口味，一種極致的創新。再說一遍，他們只占我們總數的很小很小一部分，我們不應該把注意力放在他們身上。當我們回顧 2025 年時，我們所做的一些合作主要集中在這部分人群上，但這些合作並沒有帶來足夠廣泛的治癒效果，因此無法對我們產生顯著的影響。所以我們要摒棄那種做法。

So I guess, in summary, what we've learned helps us target the customer segments we want to win with, and it helps us be more relevant to them in terms of the menu choices we make, the messaging and the operations, and it's foundational to the brand essence that we've developed.

所以總而言之，我們所學到的知識有助於我們鎖定想要贏得的客戶群，並幫助我們在菜單選擇、訊息傳遞和營運方面與他們更加相關，這也是我們所建立的品牌精髓的基礎。

Margaret-May Binshtok, Wolfe Research.

Margaret-May Binshtok，Wolfe Research。

I just wanted to ask, I remember you guys talked about expecting October to be the trough for the year. Could you give some color on the cadence of comps through November and December? And what do you see exiting the quarter into January?

我只是想問一下，我記得你們說過預計十月是今年的低潮期。能否簡單介紹一下11月和12月比賽的節奏？那麼，您認為本季末到一月份的情況會如何？

Yes. Great question, Margaret. So yes, October was the trough for us. November and December were better than October, which is great. In terms of as we exited 2025 and entered 2026, we did see some improvements in early January.

是的。瑪格麗特，問得好。是的，十月是我們最艱難的時期。11月和12月比10月好，這很好。從 2025 年結束到 2026 年開始，我們在 1 月初確實看到了一些改善。

And then in the middle of January, we launched our new Biggie Deal platform, which we are really excited about and pleased with so far. Then we met with some significant weather disruption. We ended January down about 8% in terms of US SRS. We do expect the full first quarter to be a little bit better than that.

然後在一月中旬，我們推出了全新的 Biggie Deal 平台，到目前為止，我們對此感到非常興奮和滿意。隨後我們遇到了嚴重的天氣幹擾。1 月美國 SRS 數據下降了約 8%。我們預計第一季的整體情況會比這略好。

So we're excited about the established value platform and the fact that we're talking about it in terms of Biggie, the distinctively Wendy's asset. Next week, we have the Girl Scout, Thin Mints Frosty, which now has both a swirl and a fusion option, which we think is really going to resonate with our customers. We have leveraging the chicken tenders launch in the fourth quarter. We're innovating off that. We have a new chicken tenders ranch wrap that launches next week.

所以我們對已建立的價值平台感到興奮，並且我們正在用Biggie（Wendy's 的獨特資產）來談論它。下週，我們將推出女童子軍薄荷巧克力冰霜，現在有漩渦和融合兩種選擇，我們認為這將真正引起我們顧客的共鳴。我們將在第四季充分利用雞柳的上市。我們正以此為基礎進行創新。我們下週將推出新的雞柳牧場捲餅。

And then back to hamburger and premium high-quality hamburgers, we have a Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger that launches. So all of these things, all of these things are what makes us excited about 2026. We will build throughout the year. We've talked about 2026 being a rebuilding year. 4Q of 2025 is the trough, and we expect to improve throughout the year as we execute on our Project Fresh initiatives.

然後，我們又回到了漢堡和優質漢堡包的話題，推出了一款起司培根起司漢堡。所以，所有這些事情，所有這些事情都讓我們對 2026 年充滿期待。我們將全年進行建設。我們之前討論過2026年是重建之年。2025 年第四季是低谷期，我們預期隨著「新鮮計畫」各項措施的實施，全年情況將有所改善。

Brian Mullan, Piper Sandler.

布萊恩·穆蘭，派珀·桑德勒。

Just a question on the system optimization efforts. With 5% to 6% of the US system closing in the first half of the year, I guess, could you just talk about how exhaustive this process is how flexible of an approach you're taking with franchisees, meaning will this really be all the units that the franchisees have any desire to close, and you'll be done after this?

關於系統優化工作，我有個問題。今年上半年美國系統有 5% 到 6% 的門市關閉，我想請您談談這個過程有多麼徹底，以及您對加盟商採取了多麼靈活的方式，也就是說，這是否真的是加盟商想要關閉的所有門市，之後你們就結束了？

And then kind of just related to that, could you just comment on how this would impact the rental income line in '26, if you could put some parameters around that in the context of the guidance.

然後，與此相關的是，您能否評論一下這將如何影響 2026 年的租金收入？如果您能結合指導意見給予一些參數，那就太好了。

Yes, happy to. So system optimization is really about improving franchisee economics and improving the customer experience. We established a disciplined process with our franchisees to approach this restaurant by restaurant working with them to make the best decisions that strengthened the system in the long term. Under this program, we closed 28 stores in the fourth quarter. The AUVs were -- had significantly lower than our overall average, which is to be expected.

是的，我很樂意。因此，系統優化其實是為了改善加盟商的經濟效益和提升客戶體驗。我們與加盟商建立了一套嚴謹的流程，逐家餐廳地與他們合作，做出能夠從長遠角度加強整個系統的最佳決策。在該計劃下，我們在第四季度關閉了 28 家門市。AUV 的數量明顯低於我們的整體平均水平，這也在意料之中。

And we do expect to close around 5% to 6% of our US restaurants under this program, with the majority happening in the first half of 2026. We started with our list of restaurants. We also went out and had a process where franchisees could submit the restaurants they want.

我們預計在該計劃下將關閉約 5% 至 6% 的美國餐廳，其中大部分將在 2026 年上半年關閉。我們首先列出了餐廳名單。我們也制定了一個流程，讓加盟商可以提交他們想要開設的餐廳。

We've done a very robust process, evaluating trade area, operational metrics, the profitability, leveraging the new data we have on restaurant-level economics, and we expect 5% to 6% of the US system to be impacted by this. In terms of the impact on total sales, in total, system optimization, we expect to have about a 4% impact on global system-wide sales, and we expect this to have about a $15 million to $20 million drag on adjusted EBITDA for the full year, which is inclusive of everything under that program, including the rental income.

我們進行了非常嚴謹的流程，評估了貿易區域、營運指標、獲利能力，並利用了我們掌握的關於餐廳層面經濟狀況的新數據，我們預計美國餐飲體系的 5% 到 6% 將受到影響。就對總銷售額的影響而言，系統優化預計將對全球系統銷售額產生約 4% 的影響，預計這將對全年調整後的 EBITDA 造成約 1500 萬美元至 2000 萬美元的拖累，其中包括該計劃下的所有項目，包括租賃收入。

Yes. The rental income for 2026 will be relatively flat. Obviously, it takes time to work with landlords and achieve what will be a win-win for both the franchisees and the Wendy's Company for those sites that we're in. So that will take a little bit longer to see the rental income impact versus the closures.

是的。2026年的租金收入將相對穩定。顯然，與房東合作並達成對加盟商和 Wendy's 公司都有利的雙贏方案需要時間。因此，還需要一段時間才能看到租金收入與店鋪關閉之間的對比影響。

Jeffrey Bernstein, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的傑弗裡·伯恩斯坦。

Ken, for a turnaround to work in a franchise model. It's obviously very delicate. It seems like it's a kind of a house of cards here, and it's all about the franchisee buy-in. So my guess is over the past 90 days, you've had a fair amount of discussions with those franchisees. I know it's a question that's come up before, but with the challenging fourth quarter and a rebuilding year in '26.

肯，為了扭轉局面，願意採用特許經營模式。它顯然非常脆弱。這就像一座搖搖欲墜的紙牌屋，一切都取決於加盟主的投入。所以我猜想，在過去的90天裡，你和那些加盟商進行了相當多的討論。我知道這個問題以前有人問過，但是考慮到2026年第四季充滿挑戰，而且球隊還要重建。

I'm just wondering if you can share kind of current sentiment. I'm sure there are positives and negatives, but whether franchisees are aligned in terms of your approach to improving the comp whether they're keen to push more value, if there's any change in sentiment on unit growth, just an overarching discussion or perhaps color on just how franchisees are embracing the turnaround strategy.

我只是想了解一下您目前的看法。我確信其中既有積極的一面，也有消極的一面，但加盟商在提升同店銷售額方面是否與您保持一致，他們是否熱衷於提升價值，他們對門店增長的態度是否有所改變，以及加盟商如何接受扭虧為盈戰略，這些都值得我們深入探討。

Yes. Thanks for the question, Jeff. Under the One Wendy's approach, franchisees are appreciative of the flexibility that we've been providing and our willingness to make these decisions to help improve overall franchisee economics.

是的。謝謝你的提問，傑夫。在「一個溫蒂」的經營理念下，加盟商對我們提供的靈活性以及我們為幫助改善加盟商整體經濟狀況而做出的這些決定表示讚賞。

Under the One Wendy's mindset, we know that the success of our company depends on the the success of franchisees and vice versa, which is why we elevated franchisee economics is a key priority for us. Sales deleverage puts pressure on franchisee economics, and that is what we're seeing now.

在「一個溫蒂漢堡」的理念下，我們知道公司的成功取決於加盟商的成功，反之亦然，因此，提高加盟商的經濟效益是我們工作的重中之重。銷售槓桿下降給加盟商的經濟狀況帶來了壓力，而這正是我們現在所看到的。

There's a wide range of situations in the US. We're working with franchisees on a case-by-case basis, partnering and leaning in where we can and then executing on the Project Fresh pillar around system optimization, optimizing the footprint. In terms of one thing I've learned over the last couple of months as we've executed these and begun down that path is the importance of communication. So we have -- obviously, we're making a lot of changes to the system around around marketing, around operations, around system optimization. Communication is critically important in that.

美國的情況多種多樣。我們正在與加盟商逐案合作，盡可能地與他們合作並深入參與，然後圍繞系統優化和優化佈局來執行「新鮮專案」支柱。在過去幾個月裡，隨著我們執行這些計劃並開始走上這條道路，我學到的最重要的一點就是溝通的重要性。所以很顯然，我們正在對行銷、營運和系統優化等方面進行許多變革。溝通在其中至關重要。

So we have significantly increased how frequently we're communicating with the franchisees. I was actually on a call with franchisees yesterday as part of the One Wendy's approach, giving them a preview of the things that they were going to hear on the earnings call today.

因此，我們大幅增加了與加盟主的溝通頻率。昨天，我實際上與加盟商進行了電話會議，這是「一個溫迪」計畫的一部分，目的是讓他們提前了解今天財報電話會議上將會聽到的內容。

Pete and I were with franchisees two weeks ago, walking through all the details of system optimization, allowing them to ask questions in a very open environment. Lindsay was on a go with franchisees a couple of weeks ago, walking them through the new approach to menu, messaging and how that was going to impact operations at the restaurant level. So that's critically important.

兩週前，我和皮特與加盟商們一起，詳細講解了系統優化的各個方面，讓他們在一個非常開放的環境中提出問題。幾週前，琳賽與加盟商們一起四處奔走，向他們講解新的菜單、宣傳方式以及這些方式將如何影響餐廳層面的運作。所以這一點至關重要。

Franchisees are appreciating the flexibility that we're giving and us working hand in hand with them to help improve overall franchisee economics.

加盟商們欣賞我們給予的彈性，以及我們與他們攜手合作，幫助改善加盟主整體經濟狀況的做法。

Danilo Gargiulo, Bernstein.

Danilo Gargiulo，Bernstein。

Ken, I want to go back on to the segmentation study. And frankly, I'm a little bit surprised to hear that the learnings of the customer segmentations where the relevance of the beef platform, the fresh never frozen. I think you mentioned also snacking, which I think are a core part of the DNA of the brand for a long time.

Ken，我想繼續進行細分研究。坦白說，我有點驚訝地聽到，客戶細分的研究結果與牛肉平台的相關性有關，即新鮮從未冷凍的牛肉。我想你也提到了零食，我認為零食長期以來一直是品牌 DNA 的核心組成部分。

So I'm wondering if you can maybe talk about the -- if there was some institutional knowledge that has been lost in -- within the organization over time. And if you can maybe expand on the internal turnover employee engagement scores.

所以我想知道您是否可以談談——隨著時間的推移，組織內部是否存在一些已經遺失的機構知識。如果您能詳細介紹內部人員流動與員工敬業度之間的關係，那就太好了。

Conversely, if you think that the real opportunity here is translating the inside or already inside organization into actionable initiatives. Is your current organizational structure and G&A investment sufficient to support that?

相反，如果你認為真正的機會在於將內部或已經內部的組織轉化為可執行的舉措。貴公司目前的組織結構和一般及行政投入是否足以支持這一點？

Yes. Great question, Danilo. So I think you're right. We had a combination of things that we knew that were validated through the CRE NCO study and the customer segmentation study, and we did have some new insights, a combination of those things. But the focus is really on what are we doing about it.

是的。問得好，達尼洛。所以我覺得你是對的。我們結合了一些已知的、透過 CRE NCO 研究和客戶細分研究驗證過的事情，並且結合這些事情，我們確實獲得了一些新的見解。但重點在於我們正在採取什麼措施來解決這個問題。

And I think it highlighted over the past, we had lost our focus a little bit on who the target segments were and how we're approaching menu and messaging. So now with this refocused emphasis on everyday -- all the upgrades and making the menu better and highlighting the quality of our food relative to the competition, that will inform the new strategy. It will inform the marketing strategy and how we tell our story to consumers.

我認為這凸顯了過去一段時間以來，我們在目標群體是誰以及我們如何制定菜單和傳遞訊息方面，有點失去了專注。因此，現在我們重新將重點放在日常營運上——所有的升級改造、改進菜單、突出我們食物相對於競爭對手的質量，這些都將為新的策略提供依據。它將為我們的行銷策略以及我們如何向消費者講述我們的故事提供基礎。

We have set up a new -- as a result of this, we have instituted a new marketing framework. -- process provides disciplined consistency. We've divided the year into eight periods to provide sufficient new news from a product perspective and new news that's relevant to our target segments. -- regular cadence for the restaurant teams that enable them to train appropriately and operate and execute these with excellence.

我們建立了一個新的流程——因此，我們制定了一個新的行銷框架。 ——流程提供了嚴謹的一致性。我們將一年分為八個階段，以便從產品角度和目標客戶群角度提供充足的新資訊。 ——為餐廳團隊提供規律的節奏，使他們能夠進行適當的培訓，並出色地運作和執行這些內容。

And it helps us maintain balance in terms of core innovation and value. Window One, we launched Biggie deals. So very -- taking a very distinctive Wendy's asset, expanding that for the customer into this permanent value architecture.

這有助於我們在核心創新和價值方面保持平衡。窗口一，我們推出了超值優惠。所以，正是將 Wendy's 的一項非常獨特的資產，擴展為客戶的永久價值架構。

So we have everyday value that the customers can depend on and then talking about that. It doesn't form our decisions in terms of product quality enhancements Pick and sandwiches, significant improvement in quality on a core menu item that we've had for 30 years, will provide our customers an everyday upgrade versus what's on the market today. We're also having a bun upgrade coming soon, which we use on all our premium sandwiches.

因此，我們擁有客戶可以信賴的日常價值，然後我們會討論這些價值。它不會影響我們對產品品質提升的決策。精選三明治，我們核心菜單項目（已有 30 年歷史）的品質有了顯著提升，將為我們的客戶提供與目前市場上產品相比的日常升級。我們很快也會推出麵包升級版，我們所有的高級三明治都會使用這種麵包。

And another learning was making sure that we have this common thread of quality throughout everything that we do. And so you'll see that come to life in the product innovations that we have on the menu as well as how we talk about those throughout.

另一個重要的經驗是，確保我們所做的每一件事都秉持著同樣的品質標準。因此，您將在我們菜單上的產品創新以及我們在整個過程中對這些創新的描述中看到這一點。

It does take some time to build the foundation properly. The team is making a lot of progress, and we expect the benefit of these to increase throughout the year.

打好基礎確實需要一些時間。團隊正在取得很大進展，我們預計這些進展帶來的益處將在今年內持續增加。

And Danilo, I might add from an investment standpoint in G&A, we have strong free cash flow, and our number one capital allocation priority is investing in the business and our outlook for 2026 reflects those investments.

丹尼洛，我還要補充一點，從一般及行政費用的投資角度來看，我們有強勁的自由現金流，我們資本配置的首要重點是投資於業務，我們對 2026 年的展望也反映了這些投資。

Ken mentioned on the call, investments and build teams to better support our operational excellence in our restaurants. We saw that work with investments we made in 2025. And we're offering more investments in field resources in 2026 as well as international investments to support net unit development internationally.

Ken在電話會議上提到，我們將進行投資並組建團隊，以更好地支持我們在餐廳的卓越營運。我們在 2025 年的投資中看到了成效。2026 年，我們將增加對油田資源的投資，並增加國際投資，以支持國際淨單位發展。

Dennis Geiger, UBS.

瑞銀集團的丹尼斯蓋格。

Wondering if you could talk a little bit more about the Project Fresh rollout. And maybe thinking about the timing for the franchisees to have a lot of the capabilities that the company stores have currently. I want to be sure maybe that that's the right way to think about it, Ken.

想請您再詳細介紹一下「Project Fresh」計畫的推出情況。或許應該考慮一下加盟主何時才能擁有公司直營店目前所具備的許多能力。肯，我想確認一下，這是否是正確的思考方式。

And just curious how we think about that, how we think about that timing and ultimately, thinking about that gap in comp performance and kind of narrowing that gap as the franchisees improve their performance as this rolls out.

我很好奇我們是如何看待這個問題的，我們是如何看待這個時機的，以及最終，我們如何看待同業績的差距，並在加盟商逐步提高業績的過程中縮小這個差距。

Yes, Dan, it's a great question. Let me start by saying I'm very proud of the US operations team. When you look at company restaurant performance versus the system, outperforming by 310 basis points in SRS for full year 2025 is really impressive, when you dive a level below that and see overall satisfaction was up 70 basis points year-over-year for company restaurants in the fourth quarter. When you look at accuracy, friendliness and taste, all of those elements, we're up over 300 basis points.

是的，丹，這是一個很好的問題。首先我想說，我為美國營運團隊感到非常自豪。當你查看公司餐廳的業績與系統業績的對比時，2025 年全年 SRS 業績超出 310 個基點，這確實令人印象深刻；而當你進一步了解情況時，你會發現公司餐廳在第四季度的整體滿意度同比增長了 70 個基點。從準確性、友善性和口味等所有方面來看，我們都提高了 300 多個百分點。

So a great, great results from them. And how we did that, great operations start with having great teams. People activation is about having the right capabilities and experience in our restaurants. And so it starts there and then enhancing the training, making sure that we're training all our employees on hospitality, and how to serve the guests with excellence. We mandated that for restaurant teams to make sure we were delivering quality and brand standards across the system.

所以他們取得了非常好的成果。我們是如何做到這一點的呢？優秀的營運始於優秀的團隊。員工賦能是指在我們的餐廳中擁有合適的技能和經驗。因此，一切都從這裡開始，然後加強培訓，確保我們對所有員工進行待客之道的培訓，以及如何為客人提供卓越的服務。我們要求餐廳團隊確保我們在整個系統中提供符合品質和品牌標準的服務。

And then we implemented a very methodical approach to performance management and continuous improvement, making sure that each restaurant is focused on the one or three things that they had the opportunity to make the biggest improvement in, making sure we had disciplined action plans in place, making sure we had an accountability process behind that, where the district manager would come visit and review the progress that they were making.

然後，我們實施了一套非常系統化的績效管理和持續改進方法，確保每家餐廳都專注於他們有機會做出最大改進的一到三件事，確保我們制定了嚴格的行動計劃，確保我們背後有問責機制，區域經理會來視察並審查他們取得的進展。

And then that, combined with daily operating plans to make sure the entire restaurant team was focused on executing the action plan. So we activated that in company restaurants in early 2025 and then started seeing big results in second half of 2020. If you look at the first quarter, there was about a 20-basis point difference between company restaurant SRS in the system. That grew to a little under 2% next quarter and then 400 basis points plus in the back half of the year.

然後，結合日常營運計劃，確保整個餐廳團隊專注於執行行動計劃。因此，我們在 2025 年初在公司餐廳啟動了這項計劃，然後在 2020 年下半年開始看到顯著成效。如果看一下第一季度，系統內公司餐廳的 SRS 值與實際值之間大約有 20 個基點的差異。下一季這一數字增長到略低於 2%，然後在下半年增長到 400 個基點以上。

In terms of deploying that to the system, franchisees have been receptive to this. We have 20% of franchisees who have fully adopted the program that we rolled out, and we're working on deploying it with the rest of them right now. So I would expect to see the improvement to really start to take hold in the second half of 2026. But also remember, we keep pushing on the -- our company-operated restaurants to continue to get better, right? There's no finish line here.

在將該技術部署到系統中方面，加盟商對此表示接受。我們已經有 20% 的加盟商完全採用了我們推出的計劃，現在我們正在努力將該計劃推廣到其餘的加盟商。因此，我預計這種改善將在 2026 年下半年真正開始顯現。但也要記住，我們會不斷努力，讓我們的公司自營餐廳變得更好，對吧？這裡沒有終點線。

We want to get a little bit better every single day. So we want to have some healthy competition in the system and then see where we end up.

我們希望每天都能進步一點點。所以我們希望體系內能有一些良性競爭，然後看看最終結果如何。

Gregory Francfort, Guggenheim Securities.

格雷戈里·弗蘭福特，古根漢證券。

I just wanted to ask about breakfast. Can you remind us how many stores have it today and the flexible changes. How would you expect that, I guess, to impact that number over time? And then you talked about redeploying those hours into late night. Just any framing for the expectations for franchisees.

我只是想問早餐的狀況。請問目前有多少家店提供這項服務以及彈性的變更政策？你覺得隨著時間的推移，這會對這個數字產生怎樣的影響？然後你談到要把這些時間重新安排到深夜。任何對加盟商期望的框架都可以。

Is this -- they're open up to midnight now and they still open them until 2 AM going forward? Just any thoughts on strategy-wise, how that helps.

是這樣的──他們現在營業到午夜，而且以後還會繼續營業到凌晨2點嗎？從策略角度來說，大家有什麼想法嗎？這樣做會有什麼幫助？

Yes. So breakfast remains an important daypart for the system. The large majority of the system is going to stay in breakfast. We're not pulling out. We're working with franchisees right now to finalize those exact numbers, and we'll share updates as we go along.

是的。因此，早餐仍然是身體系統一天中非常重要的一部分。該系統的大部分資源將用於早餐。我們不會退出。我們目前正在與加盟商一起確定這些具體數字，我們將隨時分享最新進展。

This is really a common-sense decision, taking learnings from the past six years that we've been in breakfast, plus taking into consideration the current environment. And ultimately it was the right thing to do is have to improve franchisee economics.

這確實是一個合乎常理的決定，吸取了過去六年我們在早餐行業的經驗教訓，並考慮到了當前的環境。最終，改善加盟商的經濟狀況是正確的做法。

And when they do make changes in the breakfast side, it enables them to start serving length earlier. And focus their labor on dayparts with the highest potential, lunch, dinner and late night. Late night was actually our best performing daypart in 2025, and we think we have an opportunity to build on that.

當他們對早餐方面進行調整時，就可以更早開始延長供應時間。並將他們的工作重點放在最具潛力的時段，即午餐、晚餐和深夜時段。2025 年，深夜時段實際上是我們表現最好的時段，我們認為我們有機會在此基礎上繼續發展。

Even if you think about it just from a general manager perspective, that general manager is getting spread throughout the day, if you take some hours off of that morning daypart, it allows them to focus more on dinner and late night. So that's how that will work.

即使僅僅從總經理的角度來看，總經理一天的工作時間是分散的，如果減少上午的工作時間，就可以讓他們更專注於晚餐和深夜的工作。事情就是這樣運作的。

We have a right to win in breakfast. If you look at the food that we serve, the Breakfast Baconator, the Brita, which is my personal favorite, we upgraded our beverage lineup in 2025, hot brew, cold brew and sparkling entity and continued focus on executing the local playbooks to help those restaurants succeed. In terms of the system-wide sales impact, the -- our estimated impact for breakfast is included in that 4% system optimization number that we provided.

我們有權在早餐比賽中獲勝。看看我們提供的食物，例如培根早餐漢堡、布里塔淨水器（我個人最喜歡的），我們在 2025 年升級了飲料系列，包括熱咖啡、冷咖啡和氣泡飲料，並繼續專注於執行本地策略，以幫助這些餐廳取得成功。就係統整體銷售影響而言，——我們估計早餐的影響已包含在我們提供的 4% 系統優化數字中。

And again, we'll provide updates as we continue to work with franchisees and finalize the plans.

我們將繼續與加盟商合作，敲定計劃，並及時提供最新消息。

Jim Salera, Stephens Inc.

吉姆·薩萊拉，史蒂芬斯公司

And I was hoping you could offer some thoughts maybe a higher level on how your expectations for QSR as a whole is going to progress this year. We've seen industry pressure obviously around traffic and consumer being still very kind of value conscious kind of continuing the trend from last year.

我希望您能從更高的層面談談您對今年快餐業整體發展前景的預期。顯然，我們看到了產業在流量方面的壓力，而消費者仍然非常注重性價比，延續了去年的趨勢。

Is the LCO framework that you set up this year more of kind of sharpening your elbows to take more of a piece of a smaller pie, or is it aimed at really driving consumers that may have lapsed from traditional QSR occasions and pulling them back into the category?

您今年建立的 LCO 框架，是更像是為了在較小的蛋糕上爭取更大的份額，還是旨在真正吸引那些可能已經不再光顧傳統快餐店的消費者，並將他們重新拉回這個品類？

Thanks for the question, Jim. We expect the consumer to remain challenged throughout 2026. So we don't expect any big changes there, which means it does end up being a share game primarily. So we're really pleased with the way that we've set up the year. So launching this new Biggie deals platform was important for us.

謝謝你的提問，吉姆。我們預期消費者在2026年仍將面臨挑戰。因此我們預計不會有任何重大變化，這意味著它最終主要會成為一場分享的遊戲。所以我們對今年的安排非常滿意。因此，推出這個全新的 Biggie Deals 平台對我們來說非常重要。

It provides customers value that they can rely on every single day. The way we're talking about it, giving customers more choice, this $4, $6 and $8 price point, $4 Biggie bites attracts customers who are looking for that lower price point and the customers that we've identified who come to Wendy's for more snacking occasions.

它為客戶每天提供值得信賴的價值。我們這樣說，是為了給顧客更多選擇，這種 4 美元、6 美元和 8 美元的價格點，以及 4 美元的 Biggie Bites，吸引了那些尋找更低價格點的顧客，以及我們已經確定的那些經常來 Wendy's 吃零食的顧客。

And then we've intentionally designed the tiers of this to provide more value as you move up that chain. So $4, $6 and then $8. The $8, you get two sandwiches, fries and a drink. So full meal two sandwiches, highest quality beef, highest quality food, fresh, never frozen beef, so excited about that and a lot of abundance. And we're talking about it.

然後，我們特意設計了這些層級，以便您隨著層級的提升而獲得更多價值。所以分別是 4 美元、6 美元和 8 美元。花8美元，你可以得到兩個三明治、一份薯條和一杯飲料。所以，兩份完整的三明治，最高品質的牛肉，最高品質的食材，新鮮的、從未冷凍過的牛肉，對此我感到非常興奮，而且量很足。我們正在討論這件事。

So this is the first time we've advertised our Biggie platform since 2024. We do expect this to improve our worthwhile pay metrics and don't think we need to go deeper to kind of chase the price point below where we've set it now. The other thing that I would say is really refocusing our efforts on the Wendy's quality difference.

這是自 2024 年以來我們首次宣傳我們的 Biggie 平台。我們預計這將改善我們有價值的薪酬指標，並認為我們不需要進一步降低價格，以追求低於我們目前設定的價格點。我想說的另一點是，我們應該真正把精力集中在溫蒂漢堡的品質差異上。

We'll see that from the operations perspective, if you look at what we're doing, rolling out the action plans from company restaurants to the system, when you look at system optimization, and potentially closing 5% to 6% of the worst-performing restaurants in the US That -- all those things are going to improve the customer experience, combined with the new marketing approach that highlights the value or the quality that Wendy's brings to the table, we think that will help us continue to improve comps as we move throughout 2026.

從營運角度來看，如果我們看看我們正在做的事情，例如將行動計劃從公司餐廳推廣到整個系統，進行系統優化，以及可能關閉美國業績最差的 5% 到 6% 的餐廳——所有這些措施都將改善客戶體驗，再加上強調 Wendy's 所帶來的價值或品質的新營銷方式，我們認為這將有助於我們在 2026 年銷售同店。

Andrew Charles, TD Cowen.

Andrew Charles，TD Cowen。

The dividend payout ratio has approached 100% in 2026, were at the high end of your target leverage ratio. So I'm curious what levers do you have in plan to sustain the dividend should the sequential US sales improvement, not going to materialize the slope you expect or more investments required in the turnaround?

2026 年股利支付率已接近 100%，處於目標槓桿率的高端。所以我很好奇，如果美國銷售額的連續成長未能達到預期，或是轉虧為盈需要更多投資，你們計劃採取哪些措施來維持股利？

Yes, it's a great question. We're committed to the dividend. We have a very balanced capital allocation policy. Priority number one is investing in the business. We invested $140 million in CapEx in 2025.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。我們承諾會按時派發股息。我們的資本配置政策非常均衡。首要任務是投資企業。我們計劃在 2025 年投入 1.4 億美元用於資本支出。

We'll invest another $120 million to $130 million of CapEx in 2026. We still have a lot of cash on the balance sheet, $340 million, which provides us the flexibility to potentially acquire restaurants under the system optimization pillar, if we decide to.

我們將在 2026 年再投資 1.2 億美元至 1.3 億美元的資本支出。我們資產負債表上仍然有大量現金，3.4億美元，這使我們能夠靈活地根據系統優化支柱收購餐廳（如果我們決定這樣做的話）。

And then we have the $100 million -- approximately $100 million of dividend funds to pay out. Still deliver very strong cash flow, $200 million in 2025, $200 million in 2026, and we still have a $300 million revolving credit facility. So feel good about overall liquidity, feel good about the flexibility that we have, and we are focused on executing the Project Fresh turnaround.

此外，我們還有大約 1 億美元的股息資金需要支付。仍將保持非常強勁的現金流，2025 年 2 億美元，2026 年 2 億美元，而且我們還有 3 億美元的循環信貸額度。所以，我們對整體流動性感到滿意，對我們擁有的靈活性感到滿意，我們正專注於執行「新鮮專案」扭虧為盈計畫。

Lauren Silberman, Deutsche Bank.

勞倫·西爾伯曼，德意志銀行。

I wanted to go back to the comp side. I know that January challenging was weather. I'm just trying to understand like underlying trends, and what you're assuming as we move through Q1. And then it seems like the guide implies comps of 1% to 2%. Can you just help us understand like the magnitude of the sequential improvement that you expect as we move through the year?

我想回到電腦前工作。我知道一月最大的挑戰是天氣。我只是想了解一些潛在的趨勢，以及你們在第一季做出的假設。然後，該指南似乎暗示組件佔比在 1% 到 2% 之間。您能否幫我們了解一下，隨著年數的增加，您預期業績會有多大的提升幅度？

Yes. Thanks, Laura. So yes, it's -- January was a bumpy month. We did see improvements to start the year. So we saw some incremental improvement from where we exited 2025 into 2026.

是的。謝謝你，勞拉。是的，一月過得不太順利。今年年初我們確實看到了一些進步。因此，我們看到從 2025 年底到 2026 年，情況已逐漸改善。

And then we were faced with significant weather disruption. January was down 8%. We do expect Q1 to come in a little bit better than that as we continue to see the benefits from the new Biggie platform as we continue to see the benefits from the new products that we're launching next week.

然後我們又遭遇了嚴重的天氣災害。1月下降了8%。我們預計第一季業績會比這略好一些，因為我們將繼續看到新的 Biggie 平台帶來的好處，同時也將繼續看到我們下週推出的新產品帶來的好處。

And as we continue to sharpen our messaging, that really appeals to our core consumer. In a couple of months, we'll launch a new chicken sandwich lineup that's significant upgrade from where we are today and gives an everyday upgrade relative to what's available on the market.

隨著我們不斷優化訊息傳遞方式，這確實能吸引我們的核心消費者。幾個月後，我們將推出全新的雞肉三明治系列，與目前的產品相比有了顯著的提升，並且與市場上現有的產品相比，在日常飲食方面也有了很大的改進。

And we think that will be another boost. And then as all these things work together, all the levers of Project Fresh, system optimization, operational excellence initiatives take hold and our new and improved approach to menu and messaging, we expect sales to continue to improve as we move throughout 2026.

我們認為這將是另一個推動力。然後，隨著所有這些因素共同發揮作用，「新鮮項目」的所有槓桿、系統優化、卓越營運舉措以及我們全新改進的菜單和資訊傳遞方式，我們預計到 2026 年，銷售額將繼續提高。

That was our last question of the call. Thank you, Ken and Suzie, and thank you, everyone, for joining us this morning. Have a great day.

那是我們通話的最後一個問題。謝謝肯和蘇西，也謝謝大家今天早上收看我們的節目。祝你有美好的一天。