US fast-food chain Wendy’s shares soar in meme-stock rally
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The news: US fast-food chain Wendy’s shares jumped to a more than seven-month high as retail traders flocked to the beaten-down stock in the latest meme-like rally.
The context: The stock rose as much as 42% to briefly hit its highest level since November 2025 with its biggest jump since March 2020.
The catalyst seems to have been a since-removed WallStreetBets post on Reddit urging members to “save Wendy’s before it’s too late”. Wendy’s ranked as the second-most mentioned stock across Reddit trading forums over the past 24 hours, according to data tracked by Swaggy Stocks, and topped the trending page on Stocktwits.
The surge came a day after Wendy’s disclosed the appointment of former Potbelly executive Steven Cirulis as chief financial officer and chief strategy officer. The move, however, appeared disconnected from the appointment.
Wendy’s shares have fallen more than 78% from June 2021 record highs, drawing heavy short selling in the process. Short interest estimates varied from 34% of free float by ORTEX to about 24% of free float by S3 Partners.
What they said: ORTEX co-founder Peter Hillerberg told Reuters the stock was primed for a “short squeeze” but was not in one yet.
“That only changes if the rally keeps running,” he said.
