WEN is the ticker for The Wendy’s Company (the fast food chain) on Nasdaq. WEN stock is a share of ownership in The Wendy’s Company, the American fast food chain famous for square burger patties and the Frosty dessert.
“WEN” is just the short code (ticker) used to trade it on the Nasdaq exchange in the US. Shareholders can make money in two ways: the share price going up, and the dividend, which is a cash payment the company makes to shareholders, currently $0.28 per share a year.
WEN is trading at about $6.08, close to its 52-week low of $5.94. The stock is down roughly 24% over the past month, and the company is valued at about $1.16 billion.
- Market cap: about $1.16 billion
- 52-week range: $5.94 to $10.12, so it’s trading right at its yearly low
- Valuation: P/E around 9.2 on trailing EPS of $0.66
- Dividend: $0.28 a year, a yield of about 4.6%
- Next earnings: estimated for Nov 6, 2026
- Analysts: 24 analysts average out to a Hold rating with a 12-month target of $7.57
Wendy’s Wen Stock Price History
WEN’s history depends on where you start counting, because today’s company was formed in 2008 when Triarc (Arby’s parent) merged with the original Wendy’s, and it was renamed The Wendy’s Company in 2011 after selling Arby’s. Most data sets begin in 1980, while some trace the corporate lineage back to 1964.
| Period | Price | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 to 2007 | Low single digits (adjusted) | Long, slow growth as the chain expanded |
| 2008 to 2012 | About $3 to $4 | Financial crisis and the Arby’s merger years; the low was around $2.90 in 2012 |
| 2013 to 2019 | About $3 up to $18 | The best stretch: up 90% in 2013 and 45% in 2019 |
| 2020 | Low near $6.20 | Covid crash in March, then a full recovery by year end |
| June 8, 2021 | $29.46 (all-time high) | A one-day spike during the meme stock craze |
| 2022 to 2024 | About $17 to $22 | Slow drift down, ending 2024 at $16.30 |
| 2025 | $16.30 down to about $8 | Lost roughly half its value |
| 2026 | About $6 | New 52-week low of $5.94 this week |
Prices before 2022 in this table are adjusted for splits and dividends, so they read lower than what the stock traded at on those days.
Wendy’s (WEN) Share Price Down
Wendy (WEN) share price, 2011 to Oct 2026
USD per share by Year-end close
| Year-end close | WEN price |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 3.71 |
| 2012 | 3.32 |
| 2013 | 6.33 |
| 2014 | 6.71 |
| 2015 | 8.18 |
| 2016 | 10.5 |
| 2017 | 13 |
| 2018 | 12.61 |
| 2019 | 18.33 |
| 2020 | 18.34 |
| 2021 | 20.35 |
| 2022 | 19.79 |
| 2023 | 17.88 |
| 2024 | 15.84 |
| 2025 | 7.96 |
| Oct 2026 | 6.08 |
Here’s how WEN’s stock price has moved since 2011.WEN climbed steadily for a decade, peaked in 2021, and has since given back most of those gains.
- 2011 to 2012: The stock closed both years between $3 and $4.
- 2013 to 2019: A long climb. It nearly doubled in 2013 alone (up about 90%) and reached roughly $18 by the end of 2019.
- 2020: The Covid crash briefly took it down to about $6.20, but it recovered to end the year near $18.
- 2021: The all-time high close was $24.37 on June 8, 2021.
- 2022 to 2024: A slow slide, ending those years near $19.80, $17.90 and $15.80.
- 2025: The big drop. It began the year at $16.30 and ended it at $7.96.
- 2026: It traded mostly between $7 and $8.30 through July, then fell to about $6.08 in early October, with a 52-week low of $5.94.
The 2011 to 2024 figures are adjusted for dividends, so they run a little below the price the stock actually traded at back then. For example, the adjusted price for December 2024 is $14.81 against a real price of $16.30.
The Wendy’s Company History
Wendy’s was founded on November 15, 1969 by Dave Thomas, who opened the first restaurant in Columbus, Ohio and named it after his daughter Melinda, nicknamed “Wendy”. The chain stood out with fresh square beef patties and the Frosty, and in the early 1970s it helped popularise the modern drive-through window. It grew fast across the US, and its 1984 “Where’s the Beef?” advertising campaign made it a household name.
In 1995 Wendy’s merged with the Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons, which it later spun off in 2006. Dave Thomas, who had become the face of the brand in its TV ads, died in 2002. In 2008 the company was bought by Triarc, the owner of Arby’s and led by investor Nelson Peltz, forming Wendy’s/Arby’s Group.
Arby’s was sold in 2011 and the business took its current name, The Wendy’s Company, now headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Today it is one of the largest burger chains in the world, with most of its restaurants run by franchisees.