By Emon Reiser

Shares of Wingstop were on the rise after the chicken-wing chain reported double-digit new-unit and revenue growth in the first quarter.

The stock rose 11% to $256. Despite the intraday gains, shares remain down 10% year to date.

"Unit growth was very impressive with 126 net new openings, and management raised its annual unit growth target to +16-17%," Raymond James analysts said in a note.

Wingstop said it nearly doubled the number of stores it opened compared with the first quarter of last year. The company previously guided for global unit growth rate of between 14% to 15%.

The chain had 2,689 Wingstop restaurants, including 2,301 in the U.S., as of March 29. The vast majority are franchise locations.

Most of its unit growth during the first quarter was domestic, with 97 unit openings in the U.S. There were 30 international-unit openings, Raymond James analysts said.

Restaurants and food-distributor stocks could benefit from investors looking to shield their portfolio from tariff risk and uncertainty, BTIG analysts said in a note last month, saying Wingstop was among its top picks.

"Restaurants generally source the vast majority of their food supply domestically, with a modest amount of product imported from Canada and Mexico," they said. "We believe there could be some consumer push back against U.S. brands in overseas markets that weigh on international sales, so highly franchised, domestic concepts like Wingstop could provide further insulation to portfolios."

Wingstop on Wednesday reported revenue growth of 17% year over year to $171.1 million. First-quarter profit rose to $92.3 million from $28.7 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Write to Emon Reiser at emon.reiser@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 30, 2025 12:48 ET (16:48 GMT)

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