Wendy's To Hire 20,000 Employees As It Launches Breakfast Menu In 2020

Breakfast will again be the newest battlefield for Wendy’s, with the global fast food restaurant chain known for its square hamburger patties launching a national breakfast menu U.S.-wide in 2020.

On Monday, Wendy’s said it will also hire 20,000 new employees to support its new company-wide breakfast menu that includes the Breakfast Baconator, Frosty-ccino and Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit. It currently serves breakfast in only 300 of its 5,810 stores in the United States.

“Launching breakfast in our U.S. restaurants nationwide provides incredible growth opportunities,” said Todd Penegor, Wendy's president and CEO.

“We are well-positioned to pursue it. We believe we have the right team and structure in place, and we put Wendy’s fan favorites on our breakfast menu to set us apart from the competition.”

Wendy's has made a one-time investment of $20 million to launch its breakfast menu. It also said it’s been forced to cut its 2019 guidance as a result of this investment.

Wendy’s said it now expects adjusted earnings per share to slide from 3.5 percent to 6.5 percent in 2019 due to the breakfast menu investment. The news contributed to a drop in Wendy’s stock by 9 percent at its lowest in regular trading.

This drop was later moderated to a 1.9 percent loss by the end of trading to $21.95. The stock sank further by 5.0 percent to $20.85 in afterhours. The company had a market value of $5.1 billion as of Monday. Despite this hiccup, Wendy’s stock is up 40% this year.

In August, Wendy’s reported a net income of $32.4 million in Q2 ($0.14 per share), up from $29.9 million ($0.12 per share) compared to August 2018. Its North American restaurants open at least 15 months grew their sales by 1.4 percent in Q2.

Wendy’s had a national breakfast menu in 2007 and another in the mid-1980s consisting of omelets, French toast and toasted sandwiches. The menu was discontinued because it took too long to cook these items.

Wendy’s didn’t give up on breakfast in part because these meals are really profitable. The early meal is the only restaurant meal showing year-over-year growth and customers tend to remain loyal when it comes to the restaurant where they eat their breakfast, said NPD Group Inc., a market research firm based in New York.