Nelson Peltz might take Wendy’s private following six straight quarterly sales declines as customers flee its poor franchise models and bad marketing

Wendy’s, the burger chain that asked “Where’s the beef?” and brought the Baconator to burger lovers worldwide, is getting grilled in its returns.

The chain, which boasts a market cap of $1.62 billion, is losing customers, closing down stores, and seeing consecutive declining sales—so much so that billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz may be preparing to take Wendy’s private as it struggles to get customers through the door.

“Traffic is down, our value proposition has slipped, and franchisee economics are under pressure,” Wendy’s CEO Bob Wright told investors on Wendy’s latest earnings call.

“We can’t just do what we’ve always done better.

We do have to innovate.” Peltz’s Trian Fund Management has assembled a consortium that could potentially submit an offer to take Wendy’s private in the coming weeks, according to reports from the Financial Times and Reuters .

The group is expected to include Abu Dhabi-based BlueFive Capital and Flynn Group, one of the world’s largest restaurant franchise operators and a major Wendy’s franchisee.

Peltz has been preparing for a potential takeover as early as February, when Trian said in a regulatory filing that it believed Wendy’s stock was “undervalued” and disclosed the fund was reaching out to possible co-investors about strategic options, including taking the company private.

Peltz personally owns roughly a 16.24% stake in Wendy’s while Trian holds roughly 7.85%, which, at over 24% combined, make up Wendy’s largest shareholder.

But a potential buyer would inherit a company whose problems extend well beyond its stock price.

U.S. same-restaurant sales fell 7% in the second quarter, marking the sixth consecutive quarterly decline, while traffic plunged 12.5%, according to Wendy’s second-quarter results and earnings call on Aug.7.

Wendy’s withdrew its 2026 financial outlook and cut its quarterly dividend to 7 cents a share.

During the first half of 2026, Wendy’s closed 289 restaurants in the U.S., and that may not be the end of it.

“I’m sure there will be additional closures,” Wright told analysts.

Part of the problem is that Wendy’s has experienced losses in the quick-service burger category for 17 straight months.