Wingstop (WING)
Consumer Discretionary · quick-service restaurants · NASDAQ
Wingstop is a rapidly growing franchisor specializing in a highly focused menu of flavor-forward chicken wings and tenders.
What Wingstop does
Wingstop Inc. is a franchisor and operator of restaurants that specialize in cooked-to-order, flavor-focused chicken wings, tenders, and chicken sandwiches. The company generates its revenue primarily through royalties and franchise fees from its franchised restaurant network, along with sales from a smaller base of company-owned locations.
Themes: franchise-based business model, quick-service restaurants, chicken segment
Fundamentals
- Price$115.43 as of 2026-08-21 close
- Market cap$3.1B as of 2026-08-21
- 1-year return-63.8% 2025-08-21 close $318.77 → 2026-08-21 close $115.43
- P/E26.23 as of 2026-08-24
- Net margin+16.1% as of 2026-08-24
- Gross margin+86.3% as of 2026-08-24
- ROE+18.1% as of 2026-08-24
- Revenue growth (YoY)+7.6% as of 2026-08-24
- Revenue CAGR (3y)+24.9% SEC XBRL
- Beta1.82 as of 2026-08-24
- Last reported earnings2026-07-29 SEC EDGAR Form 8-K (Item 2.02)
Dividend: yield +0.8%; at least 4 years of non-decreasing per-share dividends (SEC XBRL) — we do not hold the year before it, so the real streak may be longer.
How WING compares in its sector
- price-to-earnings ratiomiddle range 266 covered Consumer Discretionary peers, as of 2026-08-24
- net profit margintop 10% 334 covered Consumer Discretionary peers, as of 2026-08-24
- operating margintop 10% 334 covered Consumer Discretionary peers, as of 2026-08-24
- gross margintop 10% 331 covered Consumer Discretionary peers, as of 2026-08-24
- return on equitymiddle range 334 covered Consumer Discretionary peers, as of 2026-08-24
- 3-year revenue CAGRtop 10% 325 covered Consumer Discretionary peers
- indicated dividend yieldbottom 25% 162 covered Consumer Discretionary peers, as of 2026-08-24
- free cash flow (absolute dollars, latest fiscal year)middle range 311 covered Consumer Discretionary peers, as of FY2025
Position among covered Consumer Discretionary companies that report each metric (minimum 5 peers). A relative position within our covered catalog — not a valuation, quality, or investment judgment. A higher percentile is simply a higher value (for P/E, more expensive on earnings — never "better"). Informational only.
Top 10 scores & list membership
WING is not currently in any published Top 10 list. Its scores are below.
Long-term score
47.8 #587 of 987 scored · #47 of 115 in Consumer Discretionary
Growth 72nd (3-year revenue CAGR 24.9%, revenue growth year over year 7.6%) and profitability 69th (operating margin 27.9%, return on equity 18.1%); weakest is long-term trend (9th, it is 66.3% below its highest point of the past year).
Short-term score
34.5 #1569 of 1,704 scored · #169 of 186 in Consumer Discretionary
Setup 53rd: no Elliott-wave labelling currently fits its swings; momentum 42nd: MACD momentum is positive; weakest is trend 11th: it is trading 18.9% below its 50-day average, the short-term trend line.
Scores as of 21 Aug 2026. Each bar is a percentile: how this company ranked against every company the score ranked, 0–100. A list is a published formula and its output, not a recommendation. Method version 2.
Dividend coverage (FY2025)
Covered by reported results. In FY2025, WING's dividend was covered by reported results (earnings payout 19%, free-cash-flow payout 31%). This describes past coverage, not a forecast.
- Earnings payout19% dividends / net income
- Free-cash-flow payout31% dividends / (operating cash flow − capex)
Coverage derived from reported SEC EDGAR XBRL figures for FY2025 (dividends paid vs. net income and free cash flow, same fiscal year). This describes PAST coverage for one fiscal year — it does not predict whether a dividend will be maintained, raised, or cut, and a one-year payout ratio can be distorted by non-recurring items. Informational only — not financial advice.
How Wingstop looks technically
Wingstop (WING) is trading 41.5% below its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a long-term downtrend. Its 50-day average crossed below its 200-day average about 210 trading days ago — a "death cross", a bearish long-term signal. There is no clear trend right now — the price is choppy (ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 15, below the 25 that marks a real trend). Momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 40, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30). MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bullish about 5 trading days ago (its momentum flipped positive). It made a new 20-day low about 9 trading days ago. It is 4.5% above its 52-week low (its lowest price of the past year).
Trend
8
| Distance from the 200-day | it is trading 41.5% below its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a long-term downtrend | -41.5% |
|---|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | its average price over the last 50 trading days — a short-term trend line — is $142.31 | $142.31 |
| 200-day moving average | its average price over the last 200 trading days — the long-term trend line — is $197.41 | $197.41 |
| Swing structure | each recent peak has been lower than the one before it and each dip deeper — the pattern chart-watchers call a downtrend, which describes where price has already been and not where it goes next | lower highs and lower lows |
| Last swing turn | its last significant turn was a swing high 7 calendar days ago — the swings before that are what the structure reading is measured on | 7 sessions |
| Wave structure | its recent swings can be read as a five-part downward sequence — what Elliott-wave chartists call an impulse — now in leg 3 of five; the labelling fails if price closes above 126.24. It is the only labelling that fits, though not with textbook proportions, and it describes the swings already printed, not what comes next. | possible downward five-wave sequence, in wave 3 (atypical proportions) |
| Since the 50/200 cross | its 50-day average crossed below its 200-day average about 210 trading days ago — a "death cross", a bearish long-term signal | 210 sessions |
| Trend strength (14-day ADX) | there is no clear trend right now — the price is choppy (ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 15, below the 25 that marks a real trend) | 14.9 |
Momentum
3
| 14-day RSI | momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 40, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30) | 40.4 |
|---|---|---|
| Position in its 14-day range | it is trading in the lower half of its 14-day range ($110.44 to $130.64) — its "stochastic" reading is 25 out of 100, where 0 would mean closing exactly at the 14-session low and 100 exactly at the high. This measures WHERE the price sits inside its recent range, which is a different question from the RSI beside it: RSI is a momentum gauge, measuring how FAST the price has been moving, so a stock can drift quietly to the bottom of its range with an ordinary RSI, or fall sharply and still sit in the middle. It has been climbing within that range over the last few sessions. | 24.7 |
| Since the MACD crossed zero | MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bullish about 5 trading days ago (its momentum flipped positive) | 5 sessions |
Range
12
| 52-week high | its highest closing price over the past year (about 252 trading days) was $342.10 | $342.10 |
|---|---|---|
| From the 52-week high | it is 66.3% below its 52-week high (its highest price of the past year) | -66.3% |
| Above the 52-week low | it is 4.5% above its 52-week low (its lowest price of the past year) | +4.5% |
| Below the 52-week high | it is 66.3% below its highest point of the past year | 66.3% |
| Since a 20-day breakout | it made a new 20-day low about 9 trading days ago | 9 sessions |
| Since a 55-day breakout | it made a new 55-day low about 9 trading days ago | 9 sessions |
| All-time high | its highest closing price on record is $433.86 (set on 2024-09-24) | $433.86 |
| Given back of the 52-week move | over the past year its closes ranged ($111.36 to $339.33), and it has recovered essentially none of its fall from last year’s high — 2% of it. Chart-watchers call 61.8%-65% given back the "golden pocket" — for this company that is $252.25 to $259.54. It is watched widely enough that orders cluster there, which is the honest reason it matters; it is not a forecast. | 1.8% |
| From the all-time high | it is 73.4% below its all-time high | -73.4% |
| Nearest price level | it is trading 78.1% below a resistance level at $205.57 — a price it turned at five times since 2025-03-10, most recently on 2026-04-21. Since 2024-08-21 it has 0 such levels below the current price and 14 above. Levels like these describe where the price has reversed or paused before; they are not a forecast of where it will go. | +78.1% |
| All-time low | its lowest closing price on record is $20.31 (set on 2015-11-18) | $20.31 |
| Above the all-time low | it is 468.3% above its all-time low | +468.3% |
Volatility
5
| Band width vs its own 6 months | day-to-day price swings are about average versus its own recent 6-month history | 33rd percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Typical daily range | in a typical session it travels about $7.78 between its high and its low — about 6.7% of its price. That is its "average true range" over the last 14 sessions, which also counts the distance from the previous close, so a day that opens well away from yesterday counts as the large move it was | $7.78 |
| Bollinger bands (20-day, ±2σ) | most of its recent trading has stayed between about $104.59 and $139.96 — the "Bollinger bands", a range drawn two standard deviations either side of its 20-day average price, which widens when the stock gets more volatile and narrows when it settles | $104.59 – $122.27 – $139.96 |
| Typical daily range (% of price) | its price moves about 6.7% in a typical session — more volatile than most companies we cover. This is the average gap between a session's high and low over the last 14 sessions, counting overnight moves, expressed against the current price so it can be compared with companies trading at any price | 6.7% |
| Stretch from the 200-day average | it is trading 10.5 daily ranges below its 200-day average price (41.5% below it in plain percentage terms) — a way of asking how far it has stretched from its own average in units of how far it normally moves in a day, so a calm company and a jumpy one can be compared on the same scale | 10.5 daily ranges below its 200-day average |
Volume
1
| Volume vs its 30-day average | trading volume is about normal versus its 30-day average | 0.82× |
|---|
Analyst
2
| Change in the average price target | analysts' average price target is unchanged from the prior reading | 0.0% |
|---|---|---|
| Change in the consensus rating | the analyst consensus rating is unchanged since the prior reading | unchanged |
Candlestick patterns
2
| Since a doji | 3 sessions ago it opened and closed at almost the same price after trading through a wider range — a "doji", the classic picture of buyers and sellers finishing the session level | 3 sessions ago |
|---|---|---|
| Since a bearish engulfing | 1 session ago it opened above the previous session's close and finished below that session's open — a "bearish engulfing" pair, where one down day more than undid the up day before it | 1 session ago |
Price gaps
3
| Gap at the open | it opened on 2026-08-21 0.4% below the previous session's close — an overnight gap, the part of the move that happened while the market was shut, and traded back through that level before the close | -0.4% |
|---|---|---|
| Open gap | it gapped 2.8% below the previous close 32 sessions ago and has not traded back through the level it left behind at 170.21 — an "unfilled gap", which describes a price range no trade has since crossed and is not a forecast that it will be crossed | -2.8% |
| Gap filled | a 2.2% gap down opened on 2026-08-06 has been "filled" 5 sessions ago — price traded back through the level the gap left behind, and it took 6 sessions to close | 5 sessions ago |
Price streaks
1
| Closing streak | it closed higher in its latest session, after a session that did not close higher — a single up day rather than a run | 1 session up |
|---|
Relative strength
4
| vs market, 1 month | over the past 1 month this stock lagged the market by 16.8 percentage points (the stock lost 14.5% while the market gained 2.3%) | -16.8% |
|---|---|---|
| vs market, 3 months | over the past 3 months this stock lagged the market by 16.1 percentage points (the stock lost 13.0% while the market gained 3.1%) | -16.1% |
| vs market, 6 months | over the past 6 months this stock lagged the market by 66.8 percentage points (the stock lost 55.8% while the market gained 11.1%) | -66.8% |
| vs market, 12 months | over the past 12 months this stock lagged the market by 84.3 percentage points (the stock lost 63.8% while the market gained 20.5%) | -84.3% |
Signal agreement
2
| Bullish technical signals | 1 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it is currently in a bullish state: MACD momentum is positive — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 1 of 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Bearish technical signals | 4 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bearish state: a "death cross" — its 50-day average is below its 200-day, trading below its 200-day average, lagging the market over 6 months, trading below the Ichimoku cloud — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 4 of 9 |
Trend (Ichimoku cloud)
1
| Vs the Ichimoku cloud | trading 22% below the Ichimoku cloud — a band drawn from where its own highs and lows sat up to 2026-07-16 and projected forward over today's price, the side traders read as an established downtrend, with the band above acting as the level that would have to be cleared. The band itself is thick, spanning 9.9% of the share price, which is taken to mean a barrier that has held for a while and takes effort to cross. | -22.0% |
|---|
Volume-weighted price
2
| Vs this year’s average price paid | the price is 34% below the average price paid so far this year, so the typical buyer over that stretch is under water. That average is $175.25 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 158 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | -34.1% |
|---|---|---|
| Vs the average paid since it last reported | the price is 6% below the average price paid since it last reported on 2026-07-29 (its 10-Q), so the typical buyer over that stretch is under water. That average is $122.46 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 18 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | -5.7% |
Price levels it has turned at before
WING last closed at $115.43 on 2026-08-21. Since 2024-08-21 it has turned at 0 prices below its last close and 14 above; the 3 nearest above are listed, nearest first.
| Level | Side | Distance | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| $205.57 | Resistance | 78.1% above the last close | turned there five times · 2025-03-10 to 2026-04-21 |
| $217.10 | Resistance | 88.1% above the last close | turned there twice · 2025-04-07 to 2026-02-13 |
| $237.95 | Resistance | 106.1% above the last close | turned there three times · 2025-09-26 to 2025-12-31 |
A level is a price this company reversed or paused at more than once — they describe past behaviour, not a forecast of where the price will go.
Wave structure
Its recent swings can be read as a five-part downward sequence — what Elliott-wave chartists call an impulse — now in leg 3 of five.
This labelling fails — stops being a possible reading at all — if it closes above $126.24.
It is the only labelling that fits these swings, though its proportions are not the textbook ones.
On past moves of this shape the leg has usually ended somewhere between $14.13 and $56.95 — that is where it has tended to end if the count holds, not a forecast of where the price goes.
This reading has stood for 1 trading day, since 2026-08-21.
Read from daily closes as of 2026-08-21.
An Elliott-wave count describes the swings already printed and the level that would disprove it. It is not a forecast, a target, or advice.
Screens: Trading below the 200-day moving average · Pulled back from the 12-month high · MACD just crossed bullish (12/26/9) · trendless / choppy (low ADX) · lagging the market · Most volatile (6%+ typical daily range) | Learn: moving average · golden cross · adx · rsi · macd · breakout · fifty two week high low
Based on daily closing prices as of 2026-08-21. Describes past price behavior only — informational, not financial advice.
Analyst consensus
- Consensus ratingBuy (1.52 mean, 1=Strong Buy…5=Strong Sell) — 27 analysts
- Mean price target$206.59 range $143.00 – $300.00; median $200.00
Analyst estimates, as of 2026-08-18. These are third-party analyst opinions and price targets, aggregated — not a recommendation, prediction, or advice from stocks-llm. Informational only.
Analyst EPS estimate for WING
- Consensus EPS estimate$1.06 next reporting period, as of 2026-08-18
Change over time is not available yet: it needs two readings of the same reporting period at least 30 days apart, and we have been recording these estimates since 2026-08-04. An estimate for a DIFFERENT quarter is not a revision, so a reading from before the last report is never compared with one after it.
The consensus estimate for the next reporting period, and how it has moved between readings of that SAME period. A change is measured only between readings estimating one period — when a company reports, the consensus moves to the next quarter and the two numbers are not comparable. Informational only, not a forecast and not advice.
Key risks (from latest filing)
["Substantial long-term debt and interest payment obligations","Dependence on the success and financial health of franchisees","Volatility in food costs, particularly chicken wing prices"]
What changed in the latest 10-Q
AI-assisted comparison of WING's 10-Q filed 2026-04-29 against the prior one filed 2025-11-04.
Management's Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
- Added:
- Added reference to fiscal year ended December 27, 2025 (newer filing, filed 2026-04-29)
- Added statement that 'Fiscal years 2026 and 2025 each contain 52 weeks' (newer filing, filed 2026-04-29)
- Added update that Wingstop has 'over 3,150 locations worldwide' compared to previous 'over 2,900 locations' (newer filing, filed 2026-04-29)
- Added highlights for fiscal first quarter 2026 comparing to fiscal first quarter 2025 (newer filing, filed 2026-04-29)
- Added restaurant count table for thirteen weeks ended March 28, 2026 and March 29, 2025 (newer filing, filed 2026-04-29)
- Added 'certain restructuring charges' to Adjusted EBITDA adjustments definition (newer filing, filed 2026-04-29)
- Removed:
- Removed reference to fiscal year ended December 28, 2024 (older filing, filed 2025-11-04)
- Removed statement that 'Fiscal years 2025 and 2024 each contain 52 weeks' (older filing, filed 2025-11-04)
- Removed update that Wingstop had 'over 2,900 locations worldwide' (older filing, filed 2025-11-04)
- Removed highlights for fiscal third quarter 2025 compared to fiscal third quarter 2024 (older filing, filed 2025-11-04)
- Removed year-to-date third quarter 2025 highlights (older filing, filed 2025-11-04)
- Removed restaurant count table for thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended September 27, 2025 and September 28, 2024 (older filing, filed 2025-11-04)
- Reworded:
- Changed Adjusted EBITDA definition to add 'certain restructuring charges' as a separate adjustment item (newer filing, filed 2026-04-29 vs older filing, filed 2025-11-04)
- Changed Adjusted Net Income definition to add 'certain restructuring charges' as a separate adjustment item (newer filing, filed 2026-04-29 vs older filing, filed 2025-11-04)
- Notes:
- The newer filing appears to be truncated at the end of the provided text ('Total revenue $ 183,'), making full comparison of subsequent tables impossible
- The comparison reflects different fiscal quarters: Q1 2026 (newer) vs Q3 2025 (older), which are different reporting periods
- Both filings use substantially identical language for key performance indicator definitions with only minor adjustments noted
Risk Factors
The two filings could not be meaningfully compared for this section.
AI-assisted comparison of two SEC filing sections. It describes wording and theme changes only, makes no materiality, legal, or investment judgement, and is not financial advice. Informational only — not financial advice.
Insider activity (SEC Form 4)
No open-market insider purchases or sales recorded in the last 90 days.
- Last 180 days0 buys · 1 sell ($31483) — 1 selling insider
Most recent open-market transaction: 2026-05-12. As of 2026-08-24.
View full insider trading history → View SEC Form 3/4/5 filingsAsk about WING's insider activity →
Only open-market purchases (SEC code P) and sales (code S) are counted here. Option exercises, vesting/awards, gifts, and shares withheld for taxes are excluded — they are compensation or mechanical, not open-market conviction. Sales may be planned and non-discretionary (e.g. a Rule 10b5-1 plan) and are not necessarily bearish; open-market buying is not a recommendation to buy. Informational only — not financial advice.
Institutional ownership (13F)
5 institutional 13F filers reported holding WING as of 2026-03-31 (quarter-end position, filed within 45 days).
- Distinct 13F filers 5
- Reported shares held 6,345,710
- Reported value $983,394,597
reported quarterly holdings change (2025-12-31 → 2026-03-31): 0 new, 3 increased, 2 decreased, 0 exited. Change counts cover only managers that filed 13F reports in BOTH quarters, derived between two quarter-end snapshots — not same-day trades; a single manager is never said to have "bought" or "sold".
Institutional holdings are quarter-end long positions reported on SEC Form 13F-HR, filed up to 45 days after the quarter ends — they are delayed, are not real-time trades, exclude short positions and most non-US securities, and are not investment advice. Any increase/decrease is a reported change between two quarterly snapshots, not a same-day purchase or sale. These are quarter-end snapshots from the 13F filings on SEC EDGAR, filed within 45 days — not real-time, and any change is a difference between two quarterly reports, not a same-day trade. Informational only — not financial advice.
Short interest (FINRA)
WING had 4,241,597 shares of reported short interest as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (delayed, bi-monthly; not real-time).
WING had 15.6% of its shares outstanding sold short as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (percent of FLOAT would be higher — float is not disclosed in the source). FINRA reported 3.29 days to cover at the same settlement.
- Reported short interest (shares) 4,241,597
- Short interest (% of shares outstanding) 15.6%
- Prior settlement (shares) 4,598,134
- Reported change -7.75%
- Days to cover (reported) 3.29
Reported to FINRA as of the 2026-07-31 settlement date. Short interest is reported to FINRA and published on a delayed, bi-monthly schedule (as of a settlement date, disseminated roughly eight business days later) — it is NOT real-time, does not cover every venue or all US trading, and is not a short-squeeze prediction or investment advice. Days-to-cover is the value FINRA reports; percent of float is not shown because the source file carries no share-count denominator — where a percent appears it is of shares OUTSTANDING, the larger base, and is therefore a floor on percent of float. Informational only — not financial advice.
Competitors & peers
- Buffalo Wild Wings (Inspire Brands)
- Domino's Pizza (DPZ)
- Papa John's (PZZA)
- Restaurant Brands International (QSR)
- Yum! Brands (YUM)
- Texas Roadhouse (TXRH)
AI-enriched competitor set. Linked names are companies covered by stocks-llm; other named peers are shown for reference only.
Compare WING vs…
Frequently asked questions
What does Wingstop (WING) do?
Wingstop Inc. is a franchisor and operator of restaurants that specialize in cooked-to-order, flavor-focused chicken wings, tenders, and chicken sandwiches. The company generates its revenue primarily through royalties and franchise fees from its franchised restaurant network, along with sales from a smaller base of company-owned locations.
What sector is Wingstop (WING) in?
Wingstop (WING) is classified in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Its industry is quick-service restaurants. It trades on NASDAQ.
Does WING pay a dividend?
Yes — Wingstop (WING) pays a dividend, with an indicated yield of about 0.80% and at least 4 years of non-decreasing per-share dividends (SEC EDGAR XBRL) — we do not hold the year before it, so the real streak may be longer (market data, as of 2026-08-24). Informational only — not financial advice.
Who are Wingstop's (WING) competitors?
Notable peers of Wingstop (WING) include Buffalo Wild Wings (Inspire Brands), Domino's Pizza, Papa John's, Restaurant Brands International and Yum! Brands. This peer set is informational only — not financial advice.
Is Wingstop (WING) overbought or oversold right now?
Wingstop (WING) is currently neither overbought nor oversold — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 40, in the neutral middle (as of 2026-08-21). RSI describes recent price momentum, not a forecast — informational only, not financial advice.
Where does stocks-llm's data on WING come from?
Fundamentals and prices come from market data, as of 2026-08-24; company filings and profile facts come from SEC EDGAR. All figures are delayed daily-close data shown with their as-of date — informational only, not financial advice.
Fundamentals: market data, as of 2026-08-24. Filings: SEC EDGAR. Prices are delayed daily-close data.
Last updated 2026-08-21.
Informational only — NOT financial advice. All figures are delayed daily-close data from SEC EDGAR & market data, shown with their as-of date.