Preparing to hit a new goal of 10,000 restaurants averaging more than $3 million in sales, Wingstop is planning to roll out a new kitchen modernization effort designed to take the fast-casual chicken chain to its next level of growth.
Wingstop had another record year in 2024, with domestic same-store sales up nearly 20% for the year, driven mostly by transactions, which was on top of an 18% increase the previous year. Systemwide sales increased 36.8% to $4.8 billion.
For the Dec. 28-ended fourth quarter, domestic same-store sales increased 10.1%, also mostly driven by transactions. That was a relatively modest increase for the chain, which in the third quarter reported same-store sales up nearly 21%. For the quarter, systemwide sales increased nearly 28% to $1.2 billion.
That not-quite-as-strong-yet-still-enviable performance appeared to disappoint analysts who have developed outsized expectations for the brand, and Wingstop’s stock took a 14% tumble in midday trading.
But CEO Michael Skipworth repeatedly emphasized in his remarks the underlying health of the business after a “step-change” year.
“We might not be delivering comps that are north of 20% again,” he said, “but the overall fundamentals of our business is really strong.”
Wingstop, for example, has surpassed its previous goal of reaching $2 million average unit volumes, set just two years ago. Now the chain’s new goal is passing $3 million in AUV, and reaching 10,000 units—up from the 6,000-unit goal set earlier.
The chain ended the year with 2,563 locations systemwide after 359 net new openings in 2024, with another 2,000 in development. And 95% of that development is from existing partners who are thrilled with returns on their investment, Skipworth said.
There’s also plenty of opportunity to build brand awareness. Wingstop is investing more in advertising during live sports, including NBA, NFL, WWE and UFC games. In the first quarter, the ad fund contribution rate will increase from 5.3% to 5.5%.
Last year, the chain rolled out a new MyWingstop tech stack that has enabled the chain to grow its consumer database from 40 million to 50 million users. Digital orders now represent about 70% of sales, and the chain hopes to become 100% digital.
The tech platform allows for more hyper-personalized engagement with guests, and users visit more frequently, have a higher average check, and their satisfaction rates have increased 6%.
Skipworth said the new kitchen operating platform will be a game changer, promising to speed service and increase worker productivity.
Describing it as co-developed and built specifically for Wingstop, the new kitchen system has been tested in about 30 restaurants and will be rolled out over the next 12 months. Skipworth said it uses artificial intelligence, but he didn’t say how specifically.
It’s not just digitization of the ticket and order workflow, he said, but it uses visual cues and “gamification” to better engage team members. The result is improved speed and “role clarity,” which ultimately improves productivity. There’s also a consumer-facing element, with screens designed to help manage guest expectations.
Skipworth said the kitchen modernization will make Wingstop more of the consideration set.
“It’s going to unlock some unmet demand,” he added. “And we believe, over time, it’s going to help us continue to increase frequency, which we know will be a big driver as we continue to scale AUVs toward $3 million.”
Wingstop’s record year comes against a backdrop of traffic declines across the industry more broadly, Skipworth noted. “A lot of brands took too much price and a lot of consumers grew frustrated by that.”
Wingstop, meanwhile, expects to raise prices modestly between 1% to 2% in two windows this year, and probably toward the lower end of that range because consumers seem to be somewhat anxious about the future, Skipworth said.
When asked to gauge how consumers were faring, he described them as “doing just okay.
“Whether it’s jobs, whether it’s wages, whether it’s credit card balances, the consumer seems okay. In general, I wouldn’t say good, I wouldn’t say bad. Just okay,” he said.
Perhaps in part as a result, the recurring double-digit same-store sales increases Wingstop has been enjoying are not expected this year.
For 2025, the company is projecting domestic same-store sales growth in the low- to mid-single-digit range, with global unit growth between 14% and 15%.
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