Wendy’s And Burger King Exchange Shots Over Twitter
Wendy’s just won social media for the day. After posting a picture with the caption, “The 4 for $4 Meal: a trayful of mouth-filling glory,” Wendy’s got an unexpected response from their fast-food rivals, Burger King.
The 4 for $4 Meal: a trayful of mouth-filling glory. pic.twitter.com/JjDOFZVXuP
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) January 20, 2016
Uproxx reports that in the tweet, Burger King tried to “one-up” Wendy’s with a caption reading, “5 for $4, because 5 is better than 4.” How professional of you, Burger King.
5 for $4, because 5 is better than 4. pic.twitter.com/BZe8JFbKjm
— Burger King (@BurgerKing) January 21, 2016
Luckily, the beef didn’t stop there, as Wendy’s had a pretty nice comeback when pushed for one by Twitter users. One user asked them “what are you firing back,” to which Wendy’s responded with, “edible food.” Cue mic drop.
@bguerns13 edible food
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) January 22, 2016
It didn’t take long for Twitter to erupt with joy upon hearing the diss.
@PaperWash @Wendys pic.twitter.com/FHUBbE3ZlH
— Sharky (@foodfacenow) January 23, 2016
All joking aside, Wendy’s hasn’t had it too bad in recent months thanks to the E. coli controversy over at Chipotle. Investors Business Daily reports that Chipotle has lost one-third of its value since October, and that fast-food chains like Wendy’s and McDonalds will benefit from that.
“Our key takeaway is that same-store sales in the domestic quick-service burger sector appear to have ended 2015 on a very strong note, with December eking (out a victory) over November as the best month for that segment’s same-store sales in 2015. This likely bodes well for near-term results from McDonald’s and Wendy’s,” said Nomura analyst Mark Kalinowski.
The news came today that McDonald’s did, in fact, post favorable earnings for quarter four of 2015.
“We ended the year with momentum, including positive comparable sales across all segments for both the quarter and the year, a testament to the swift changes we made and the early impact of our turnaround efforts,” said CEO Steve Easterbrook.
“My priorities for McDonald’s as a modern, progressive burger company are threefold: driving operational growth, creating brand excitement and enhancing financial value,” Steve Easterbrook said.
“For too long we’ve asked customers to adapt to us. A big part of turning that around is giving customers more choice and always adapting to meet their needs.”
McDonald’s recent addition of the all-day breakfast menu has definitely helped turn things around, and Wendy’s is also adding new menu items that it hopes will give customers more choices and a better experience. Among these menu items are things such as a Bacon Mozzarella Burger, a Sweet Thai Chili Chicken Sandwich, and a Green Chile Quesoburger.
“Clearly, All Day Breakfast is helping bring back lapsed customers and may even be bringing in new customers who wouldn’t normally be going to McDonald’s,” Mr. Kalinowski said before earnings were announced. “I’m hearing that from franchisees — and from friends, too.”
Many investors believe that Wendy’s performance for quarter four will mirror McDonald’s strong showing.
“We also expect Wendy’s to announce generally favorable news, including what we expect to be a strong Q4 2015 earnings release, during its upcoming analyst meeting on Feb. 9,” Kalinowski continued.
These strong forecasts come despite the beginnings of a nationwide shift to a higher minimum wage. In September, New York State lawmakers passed a $15-per-hour minimum wage hike for fast-food employees. Other cities are expected to follow suit in the coming months. Some say there’s even going to be a federal minimum wage hike in the future, but the likelihood of that happening immediately is uncertain.
It’s fun to watch sparks fly on Twitter between Wendy’s and Burger King, but the fast-food industry as a whole is doing much better because of Chipotle’s recent problems.
[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
