How Much Money You'd Have If You Invested $1,000 In Wendy's 10 Years Ago

The year 1969 saw the humble beginnings of Wendy's, which would grow to become a true American icon over the next 50 years. Founder Dave Thomas launched the revolutionary hamburger restaurant concept in Columbus, Ohio. Building his restaurant chain on the idea of "Quality is our Recipe," the franchise became beloved for its square hamburgers crafted from fresh beef that was never frozen. It expanded to feature some creative menu ideas such as salad bars, menu sides like baked potatoes and chili, and the famous Frosty dessert treat.

Today Wendy's boasts about 7,000 locations around the U.S. and the world. The company and franchises employ hundreds of thousands of workers globally. Its commitment to becoming the world's most beloved restaurant brand continues with countless pioneering innovations over the decades, per the Wendy's investor relations website.

Wendy's stock trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol WEN. If you had taken a stake in the restaurant chain that supports others (through the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and Wendy's Wonderful Kids' programs) at the end of 2015, you would have been rewarded. A thousand dollars invested in Wendy's a decade ago is worth over $2,320 today.

Founder Dave Thomas had a boyhood dream to change the world through a fresh hamburger restaurant concept. What began as a single restaurant in 1969 quickly started to shake up the fast food industry. In the 1970's Wendy's brought the world the original modern drive through, fondly called the "Pick Up Window" by Thomas. He opened his first international restaurant in Canada in 1975 and took the company public in 1976.

Innovations in advertising were another hallmark of Wendy's growing success. April 1977 saw its first nationwide TV commercials even as the company had fewer than 1,000 restaurant locations. January of 1984 brought the iconic "Where's the Beef?" commercial airing for the first time. By April of 1989, Thomas regularly began appearing in Wendy's commercials personally.

Wendy's continued innovating through both its 25th and 50th year anniversaries. The company rolled out the original Super Value Menu in 1989 with 99-cent items everyday. By December of 1992 Wendy's had opened its 4,000th restaurant ahead of the 25th anniversary in November 1994. The chain opened its 6,000th location in 2001 just before Thomas died at 69 years old in January of 2002.

Wendy's continued pioneering innovations after its NASDAQ listing in December, 2011. It launched a mobile app in 2012. Yahoo! Finance named Wendy's its chain restaurant Stock of the Year in 2013 due to its Image Activation initiatives and menu creativity. Meanwhile chief rival McDonald's suffered from failed menu items that cost the company millions.

The company continued to outperform over the last decade. Thanks to the rollout of DoorDash delivery in December, 2017 and the opening of the 500th international Wendy's location, the franchise had much to celebrate during its 50-year anniversary in November 2019. That same year competitor Burger King suffered the infamous Big Whopper Mistake. Year 2020 saw the company launch a successful breakfast menu and start its rewards program. In 2022, the chain opened its 7,000th restaurant celebrating a global reach with over 1,000 international locations.

Wendy's stock opened January 2, 2015 at $9.06 per share. You could have purchased 110 shares with a $1,000 investment then. The stock closed at $16.26 on December 30, 2024. Besides this $7.20 per share price increase, investors also enjoyed dividends of $4.785 per share over the timeframe, per Wendy's investor webpage. Your original $1,000 grew to $2,321 in the last decade (including dividends). It represented a 132% gain over the 10 years, making for an average annual return rate of 13.2%.