Do we like them?

Do we like Wendy's?

Fast-food hamburger chain, mostly franchised, based in Dublin, Ohio, USA

Our score: 4 out of 10. Not one we'd back with our money. It has a record of labour and data-security settlements and is shrinking, and we found little good-deed evidence to offset that.

Wendy's is the US burger chain based in Dublin, Ohio. Nelson Peltz's Trian fund has had a big say in it for years. He stepped down as chair in 2024 but still holds a stake of roughly 13–16%, depending on the source. In February 2026 he said in a filing that he was weighing options, including buying more shares to gain control.

It's been a rough stretch. Same-store sales fell 11.3% at the end of 2025, and the chain said it would close at least 300 sites. In May 2026 it named Bob Wright CEO. He's a former Wendy's COO who most recently ran Potbelly.

The legal history is mixed. In 2020 Wendy's paid $400,000 to settle Massachusetts child labour allegations at 46 corporate-owned sites. It also set up a national child labour audit program.

On privacy, Wendy's agreed to a $50 million settlement over a 2016 payment-card breach, of which it said it would pay $27.5 million. It also agreed to an $18.2 million settlement in 2024 over employee fingerprint scanning in Illinois. We found no newer fines or cases. It also hasn't engaged with the Fair Food Program, which a 2023 NYC pension filing criticised. We give it a 4.