Wendy's reported its third-quarter earnings fell 57 percent from a year ago, before it spun off the Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut chain. But its results easily beat Wall Street estimates, helped by improving margins and cost controls.
Sales at stores opened at least a year, considered a key indicator of a retailer's strength, rose 0.2 percent in the quarter, compared with 4.1 percent a year ago.
Excluding charges stemming from the committee the company formed to review options, and last year's profits from Tim Hortons, Wendy's reported a profit of $38.6 million, or 44 cents a share, for the quarter compared with profits of $24.9 million, or 21 cents a share, a year ago.
