Wingstop CFO Has Promising News About The Cost Of Chicken Wings

Inflation may have inflamed the news. But Alex Kaleida, the CFO of Wingstop, has stated in a talk with investors that "we believe the worst is behind us," sharing the chicken wing chain expects a deflation in chicken wing prices to occur over the second half of the year. Why Kaleida expects this price shift was not stated, but Restaurant Business shares that the price of jumbo chicken wings has dropped by four cents per pound compared to last week.

Axios laid out in late January a series of factors that informed why the price of chicken wings in particular have risen dramatically. Namely, that the NFL season pushed demand, people's preference for chicken wings was up compared to breast when eating out, and a large market of chicken wing delivery companies that have started filling the space. Add to that the chicken farm labor shortage, as reported by InsideHook in June 2021, which constricted supply.

This is not the first time Wingstop executives have promised a return to good times as far as chicken wing prices are concerned. Charles Morrison, Wingstop's CEO, told CNBC the industry was seeing signs that chicken wing prices would drop back in November, before the most recent surge. "Wing prices are coming down," Morrison explained. "As of today, they've already come down almost 40 cents a pound since their peak, and I think that's a good indicator that the supply of chicken wings is growing."

That 2021 shortage was so acute that Wingstop decided to open a new virtual brand, Thighstop, to mitigate the massive price climb of chicken wings, according to CNN. Similarly during the February 2022 Super Bowl season, many chains turned to boneless wings to fill the gap and save some money, offering discounts and promotions featuring the faux wings.