Wendy's Bland Sales

• Email
• Share
• Print

Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) can tout its 13 consecutive months of same-store sales growth all it wants, but I'm still not too impressed. The company obviously isn't thrilled, either -- or it wouldn't have lowered its earnings outlook and put itself up for sale.

For the second quarter, Wendy's reported an unremarkable 0.7% gain in comps at its company-owned stores, and 0.4% at its franchised locations. In one breath, management cited its menu-management strategy and new products as reasons for its continued momentum. Yet in the next, it stated that its second quarter wasn't as strong as the first, as the company continues to execute a market-based pricing strategy.

 To me, this sounds like a contradiction. Management feels customers are reacting positively to its new menu items, yet sales are off because of higher menu prices. Apparently, consumers need a bit of time to adjust to the higher prices.

Wendy's continues to try to keep pace with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Burger King (NYSE: BKC), and the plethora of other fast-food and casual-dining establishments. Its latest efforts include new menu items such as its triple-stack cheeseburger and Frosty Float. In the third quarter, it will also begin promoting the Baconator. Wendy's is clearly not latching on to rivals' trend toward healthy alternatives. The Baconator consists of six strips of bacon atop a half-pound of beef, plus cheese, ketchup, and mayonnaise. I think my arteries just clogged from typing that.

Despite its ongoing efforts to reinvent itself, I find little to whet my appetite at Wendy's. Management can say what it wants about its comps, but growth of less than 1% doesn't get my mouth watering. When I combine that with its lowered earnings outlook, overstuffed valuation, and warnings from management about how the company's changes will negatively affect short-term results, I don't see a recipe for success at Wendy's.

For more on the new lineup at Wendy's, check out:

• Wendy's Cools Off
• Wendy's Wants a Biggie Deal
• Still Turning a Corner at Wendy's

Fool contributor Mike Cianciolo welcomes feedback and doesn't own any of the companies mentioned in this article. The Fool has a disclosure policy.