Wingstop is looking to buy back up to $300 million more in outstanding shares, the company announced this week.
The stock buyback was authorized by Wingstop’s board and adds to the Dallas-based company’s existing share buyback program.
To date, Wingstop has bought back more than 2.5 million of its own shares since summer 2023, to the tune of nearly $700 million, according to a release.
This week’s move was announced on Wednesday and effective immediately. It was meant in part as a signal of long-term corporate confidence, even as the company has faced recent struggles due in part to declining sales among Hispanic and low-income customers.
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In June, after a run-up, Wingstop’s stock traded above $380, but since then it’s fallen significantly and is down over 15% year-to-date. This week, the price dipped below $200, although it trended higher in early trading on Friday.
“We remain disciplined in our capital allocation, prioritizing long-term growth investments while our asset-lite model and strong free cash flow allow us to return excess capital to shareholders,” Alex Kaleida, the company’s chief financial officer, said in a statement.
Kaleida added that the share buyback program was part of that strategy, and that the additional $300 million buyback “reinforces our commitment to providing sustainable, long-term value to shareholders.”
As of Friday, the fast-casual chain had a market cap around $5.5 billion. Chipotle, the fast casual Mexican food giant, is valued at over $42 billion. Wendy’s, the struggling traditional hamburger fast food joint, is now valued at around $1.4 billion.
Wingstop was founded as “a small buffalo-style chicken wing restaurant” in 1994 in Garland, according to its website, and began offering franchises a few years later. The company now counts around 3,000 restaurants, including in Australia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and The Netherlands.
In 2024, it moved its headquarters from Addison to a 112,000-square-foot office space at One West Village, along the North Central Expressway in Uptown Dallas.