U.S. markets
U.S. stocks traded in the red on Wednesday, with investors worried about higher inflation. The Dow fell 1.38% to 33,769, the S&P 500 Index retreated 1.69% to 4,081 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 2.37% to 13,071.
Gainers
- Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY, Financial) +5.8%
- Valero Energy Corp. (VLO, Financial) +4.5%
- HollyFrontier Corp. (HFC, Financial) +3.8%
- Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO, Financial) +3.0%
- Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM, Financial) +2.4%
Losers
- Gap Inc. (GPS, Financial) -5.0%
- Lennar Corp. (LEN, Financial) -4.9%
- Nucor Corp. (NUE, Financial) -4.3%
- Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW, Financial) -4.5%
- Twitter Inc. (TWTR, Financial) -4.1%
- Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY, Financial) -4.3%
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded in the green. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.82%, Germany's Dax advanced 0.20%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.19%, andSpain's Ibex 35 inched up 0.23%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.61%, India's BSE Sensex retreated 0.96%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.78% and China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.61%.
Wendy's releases earnings report
Shares of The Wendy's Co. (WEN, Financial) fell more than 2% on Wednesday to $22.23 after the company posted its fiscal first-quarter results.
The fast-food restaurant's revenue grew 13.6% year over year to $460.2million, beating expectations by $15.03 million. It posted earnings of 20 cents per share, beating analysts' estimates by 5 cents.
President and CEO Todd Penegor had the following to say:
"We are increasing our 2021 financial outlook meaningfully across all key financial metrics, driven by an outstanding first quarter that underscores our continued momentum and the overall strength of our business."
The operating profit reached $83.1 million, up from $48.7 million, due to higher franchise royalty revenue and fees.
The adjusted Ebitda was $121.0 million, up from $89.3 million, also positively impacted by higher franchise royalty revenue and fees and an increase in company-operated restaurant margin.
Moreover, the cash flow from operations were $85.8 million. The company announced an 11% hike in its quarterly cash dividend to 10 cents per share. It repurchased 2.8 million shares for $56.0 million and has repurchased 0.5 million shares so far in the second quarter.
Looking ahead to the full year, the company expects adjusted Ebitda between $455 million and $465 million, cash flows from operations in the range of $330 million to $350 million and free cash flow ranging from $250 million to $260 million. It also projects adjusted earnings per share of 72 cents to 74 cents.
Wendy's shares have advanced 4% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 13%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.
