- Wendy's saw pressure from higher wage costs in its first quarter of the year, but the company is dodging rising commodity prices, CEO Todd Penegor told CNBC.
- "From a commodity outlook perspective, because we're largely locked in, we're guiding flat to commodities this year, so we're in a good spot there," he said on "Mad Money."
- The comments come as the latest inflation data showed consumer prices rose last month at the fastest rate in more than a decade.
Rising chicken prices and other commodity costs won't weigh on Wendy's operations, but the fast-food chain is feeling the pinch of higher wages, CEO Todd Penegor said on CNBC Wednesday.
"From a commodity outlook perspective, because we're largely locked in, we're guiding flat to commodities this year, so we're in a good spot there," he told Jim Cramer in a "Mad Money" interview, adding the company is seeing a "little bit of pressure on labor β access to labor, cost to labor."
The comments come as the latest inflation data showed consumer prices rose last month at the fastest rate in more than a decade. The Labor Department reported earlier Wednesday that the consumer price index, a measure of inflation, shot up 4.2% from a year ago, higher than economists projected.
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Wendy's also reported first-quarter earnings before the market opened. The company said it generated $460 million of revenue and earned 20 cents per share, beating Wall Street's estimate of $445 million and 20 cents, according to FactSet.
In the quarter that ended April 4, global same-store sales rose 13% from a year ago.
Shares of Wendy's declined 1.40% to $22.48 as part of a broader market sell-off.
Money Report
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