Sifting through countless of stocks in the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in The Wendy's Company or Jack in the Box Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc.

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation, development, and franchising of a system of quick-service restaurants in the United States and internationally. The company operates through the Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. Its restaurants offer a menu that includes hamburger sandwiches and chicken sandwiches; chicken tenders and nuggets, chili, french fries, baked potatoes, salads, soft drinks, Frosty desserts, and kids’ meals; breakfast menu, including the Breakfast Baconator sandwich and seasoned products; and a variety of promotional products on a limited time basis. The company also owns and leases real estate properties. As of December 28, 2025, there were 5,969 Wendy’s restaurants in operation in the United States and 1,428 Wendy’s restaurants in operation in 38 foreign countries and U.S. territories. The company was formerly known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. and changed its name to The Wendy’s Company in July 2011. The Wendy's Company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.

Jack in the Box Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick-service restaurants (QSR) in the United States. It operates through Jack in the Box and Del Taco segments. The company engages in the operation of a hamburger chain under the Jack in the Box brand; and a Mexican-American QSR chain under the Del Taco brand. The company was formerly known as Foodmaker, Inc and changed its name to Jack in the Box Inc. in November 1999. Jack in the Box Inc. was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Latest Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure and The Wendy's Company, Jack in the Box Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, The Wendy's Company had a $1.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure median of $2.2 million. The Wendy's Company’s stock is down 5.4% in 2026, up 0.8% in the previous five trading days and down 19.77% in the past year.

Currently, The Wendy's Company’s price-earnings ratio is 12.5. The Wendy's Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.2 billion with a 5.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.505 per share for the current fiscal year. The Wendy's Company currently has a 3.4% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Jack in the Box Inc. had a $304.2 million market cap, putting it in the 31st percentile of all stocks. Jack in the Box Inc.’s stock is down 20% in 2026, down 4.7% in the previous five trading days and down 15.32% in the past year.

Currently, Jack in the Box Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Jack in the Box Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.4 billion with a 2.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -1.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.106 per share for the current fiscal year. Jack in the Box Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
The Wendy's Company	WEN	B
Jack in the Box Inc.	JACK	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

The Wendy's Company has a Value Score of 68, which is Value. Jack in the Box Inc. has a Value Score of 60, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: The Wendy's Company

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, The Wendy's Company is considered to have better value than Jack in the Box Inc.. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, The Wendy's Company could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
The Wendy's Company	WEN	B
Jack in the Box Inc.	JACK	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

The Wendy's Company has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong. Jack in the Box Inc. has a Growth Score of 77, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
The Wendy's Company	WEN	B
Jack in the Box Inc.	JACK	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

The Wendy's Company has a Quality Score of 67, which is Strong. Jack in the Box Inc. has a Quality Score of 71, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Other The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Quality and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Estimate Revisions.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, The Wendy's Company or Jack in the Box Inc. Stock?

Overall, The Wendy's Company stock has a Value Score of 68, Growth Score of 73 and Quality Score of 67.

Jack in the Box Inc. stock has a Value Score of 60, Growth Score of 77 and Quality Score of 71.

Comparing The Wendy's Company and Jack in the Box Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.