Wingstop Inc.’s stock
WING,
rose 7% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the operator of chicken restaurants topped third-quarter earnings estimates by a wide margin. The Dallas-based company posted net income of $19.5 million, or 65 cents a share, up from $13.4 million, or 45 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 69 cents, ahead of the 52 cent FactSet consensus. Revenue rose 26.4% to $117.1 million to also beat the $109.0 million FactSet consensus. The company raised its full-year guidance and now expects same-store sales growth of about 16%, up from prior guidance of 10% to 12%. It still expects to open 240 to 260 global net new units. The stock has gained 33% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX,
has gained 9%.