Wingstop Inc. Releases Preliminary Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Sales Results Ahead of Investor Day

Achieves 16th Consecutive Year of Positive Same Store Sales Growth

DALLAS, Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wingstop Inc. (“Wingstop” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: WING) today released preliminary unaudited sales and unit development results for the fiscal fourth quarter and full year ended December 28, 2019.

Highlights for the fiscal fourth quarter 2019 as compared to the fiscal fourth quarter 2018:

• 45 net openings in fiscal fourth quarter 2019
• Domestic same store sales increased 12.2%
• Company-owned restaurant same store sales increased 8.9%
• System-wide sales increased 21.2% to approximately $397.2 million
• Digital sales increased to 39.0% in December 2019

Highlights for the fiscal year 2019 as compared to the fiscal year 2018:

• System-wide restaurant count increased 10.6% to 1,385 worldwide locations with 133 net openings
• Domestic same store sales increased 11.1%
• Company-owned restaurant same store sales increased 9.8%
• System-wide sales increased 20.1% to approximately $1.5 billion

As of December 28, 2019, there were 1,385 Wingstop restaurants system-wide consisting of 1,231 restaurants in the United States, of which 1,200 were franchised and 31 were company-owned, and 154 international franchised restaurants across nine countries.

“2019 was a significant year for Wingstop as we invested in both our business and our talent to lay the foundation for sustainable growth, while delivering industry leading 11.1% same store sales growth and 10.6% net new unit growth,” stated Charlie Morrison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wingstop. “Today, during our first Investor Day since our IPO, our leadership team will present a more in-depth view into our strategic pillars for growth. Our execution of our long-standing strategic plan provides confidence that we will achieve our long-term vision of becoming a top 10 global restaurant brand.”

Additional information for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2019

In the fourth quarter of 2019, Wingstop invested $1.6 million in a consulting project to support the Company’s strategic initiatives, which will be treated as an addback to Adjusted EBITDA. Additionally, Wingstop incurred a $0.5 million one-time bonus associated with the execution of a new employment contract for the Chief Executive Officer, and separately, $0.6 million of severance charges associated with certain organizational changes to the senior leadership team.