Wingstop Inc. announced that its board of directors approved a new share repurchase program with authorization to purchase up to $250.0 million of its outstanding shares of common stock, effective immediately.
“Since our IPO, total shareholder returns have exceeded 850%, demonstrating our commitment to returning capital to shareholders,” comments Alex Kaleida, Chief Financial Officer. “We believe Wingstop is in a category of one, whether it’s the strength of our sustaining sales growth or the best-in-class returns for our brand partners and shareholders. Our new share repurchase program together with our regular dividend program underscore the strength of our highly franchised, asset-lite model and our ability to enhance shareholder returns while preserving financial flexibility to support our strategic growth initiatives.”
Repurchases under the program may be made in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions or by other means, including through trading plans intended to qualify under Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and accelerated share repurchase agreements, with the amount and timing of repurchases to be determined at Wingstop’s discretion, depending on market and business conditions, and prevailing stock prices among other factors. Open market repurchases will be structured to occur in accordance with applicable federal securities laws. This program does not obligate Wingstop to acquire any particular amount of common stock, and may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time at Wingstop’s discretion.
Wingstop expects to fund repurchases with a combination of existing cash and cash equivalents and cash flows from operations. As of July 1, 2023, Wingstop had cash and cash equivalents of $188.5 million.
