Wendy’s CEO touts AI drive-thru deal with Google, late-night opportunity
Wendy's CEO Todd Penegor told CNBC's Jim Cramer on Wednesday the fast-food chain's artificial intelligence partnership with Google is the "first step" toward additional technology changes at its restaurants.
Wendy's and Alphabet -owned Google worked to create an A.I. chatbot specifically designed for drive-thru ordering. The Ohio-based burger chain will run a pilot program of the AI drive-thru at several locations in the Columbus area starting in June, Penegor told Cramer.
This new drive-thru feature aims to "take out the slowest point in the order process, ordering at the speaker box," to create a more pleasant restaurant experience, the CEO said. "We're going to learn a lot. First step on a lot of innovation," he added.
Penegor stressed his commitment to modernize Wendy's over the next few quarters, emphasizing the opportunity with digital menu boards, for example. All together, Penegor said Wendy's is trying "drive the restaurant of the future" with these initiatives.
In addition to tech-focused changes, Penegor said another area of opportunity lies with Wendy's store hours. "We're going to lean into late night," he said. "We know we've under-indexed and have an opportunity to drive a lot of growth" by targeting the late-night crowd.
Earlier Wednesday, Wendy's reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with total revenue at $528.8 million, up 8.2% from the year-ago period, and more than the $522 million consensus estimate. The company's earnings per share rang in at $0.21, just one cent higher than expected.
But despite beating on the top-and-bottom lines, Wendy's declined to raise its full-year guidance, which may have contributed to its stock falling around 2% at its lows Wednesday. However, shares of Wendy's climbed back up to finish higher by 1% Wednesday, at $23.21 each.
Disclaimer: Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust owns shares of Alphabet.
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Source: CNBC
