Wendy's stock surged 27% to $7.97 on Wednesday after the burger chain named Steve Cirulis as its new chief financial officer, igniting a retail-driven rally among Reddit traders pushing a "Save Wendy's" campaign. Cirulis previously held the same dual role at Potbelly, where he and current Wendy's CEO Bob Wright oversaw a more than 500% share price increase, fueling turnaround hopes. The stock saw over 14 million shares traded in premarket hours, with Reddit mention volume ranking second among all stocks and short interest at a record 26% of available shares, according to S3 Partners and Koyfin data. The rally comes despite a difficult quarter in which U.S. same-restaurant sales fell 8% and net income dropped 42% to $22.7 million, though insider buying by director Peter May at $7.14 per share provided some support. The next key test will be the Q2 2026 earnings report, where same-restaurant sales and commentary from Cirulis could either validate the squeeze or give momentum back to short sellers.
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