Wendy’s Shares Jump 37% as Reddit Meme Stock Frenzy Returns

Wendy’s shares surged on Wednesday after a wave of buying activity driven by retail traders on Reddit reignited interest in the fast-food chain. The stock climbed about 37% to roughly $8.50 shortly after the market opened, putting it on track for its biggest intraday gain since at least June 2021, when it advanced 25.8%.

Investor enthusiasm intensified following a series of posts on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets community, the same forum that helped fuel the GameStop and AMC meme stock rallies in previous years. One widely shared post urged users to “save” Wendy’s, while others argued the company represented a stronger investment opportunity than SpaceX. One post compared valuation metrics, noting Wendy’s price-to-earnings ratio of 8.1 versus SpaceX’s negative 53.6.

Trading activity also accelerated significantly. According to Vanda Research, purchases of Wendy’s shares reached approximately $2.2 million earlier this week, a sharp increase from the $109,600 recorded during the entire previous week.

The rally came shortly after Wendy’s appointed Steve Cirulis as its new chief financial officer and chief strategy officer. Cirulis previously held the same positions at Potbelly.

Despite the sharp rebound in its share price, Wendy’s market value stood at about $1.5 billion on Wednesday, well below its record valuation of $5.4 billion reached in October 2020. The company has lost around 72% of its value since that peak, with more than 61% of the decline occurring after Nov. 1, 2024.

Wendy’s has faced ongoing business challenges in recent years as weaker consumer spending affected restaurant traffic. The company warned last year that sales could remain flat or decline as demand softened across the fast-food sector. Earlier this year, it also said rising U.S. inflation, which reached a three-year high, weighed on profit margins while global sales fell 8.3% through the fourth quarter of 2025. Interim Chief Financial Officer Ken Cook previously said Wendy’s planned to close up to 6% of its nearly 6,000 U.S. restaurants as part of its turnaround strategy. In November, the company also forecast lower sales after reporting that lower-income customers were cutting back on dining out.