Wingstop: cost of chicken wings rises 27.5%

Inflation has taken a bite out of Wingstop, with costs for bone-in chicken wings soared 27.5% year-over-year in the fourth quarter and a record 40.9% year-over-year for fiscal year 2021.

Consumers are paying over 10% more for chicken, as reported in the recent Consumer Price Index.

The restaurant chain's overall cost of sales, excluding pre-opening expenses, increased to $14.4 million for the fiscal fourth quarter and $56.9 million for fiscal year 2021, up from $12.2 million and $48.6 million a year ago.

The cost of sales of restaurant sales rose by 84.7% in the fourth quarter and 81% for the full year, compared to 76.7% and 74.7% during the same period last year.

Wingstop reported a quarterly profit of $6.9 million, or 23 cents per share, compared with a loss of $6.4 million or 21 cents per share a year ago. The company reported a profit of $42.7 million, or $1.42 per share, compared to $23.3 million, or 78 cents per share, last year.

The total revenue for the quarter grew 13.8% to $72 million, up from $63.3 million last year. There was a 19.8% increase in sales in the quarter to $601.9 million, with digital sales accounting for 61.3% of total sales, while domestic same store sales increased 7.5%. Revenue for the full year went up 13.5% to 282.5 million, with system-wide sales jumping 20.2% to $2.3 billion and domestic same store sales increasing 8%.

As of December 25, 2021, Wingstop had 1,731 restaurants system-wide, including 1,534 restaurants in the United States. Over 1,400 of the domestic locations are owned by franchisees, while 36 are company-owned. Wingstop has 197 franchised restaurants in the world.