Wingstop (WING) Slid In line with Broader Weakness Across the Restaurant Industry

Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Mid Cap Fund” third-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Global equity markets continued their strength in the third quarter, ending the period with double-digit year-to-date gains. In the quarter, the fund’s Investor Class fund ARTMX returned 8.80%, Advisor Class fund APDMX posted a return of 8.80%, and Institutional Class fund APHMX returned 8.83%, compared to a 2.78% return for the Russell Midcap Growth Index. The significant outperformance was led by holdings in the health care sector. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its third-quarter 2025 investor letter, Artisan Mid Cap Fund highlighted stocks such as Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING). Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) is a restaurant company that operates under the brand name Wingstop. The one-month return of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) was -0.80%, and its shares lost 32.52% of their value over the last 52 weeks.  On October 14, 2025, Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) stock closed at $254.99 per share, with a market capitalization of $7.12 billion.

Artisan Mid Cap Fund stated the following regarding Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:

"Among our Q3 detractors were Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING), Spotify and Atlassian. Wingstop, a quick-service restaurant franchisor, reported quarterly results that exceeded expectations, but shares declined due to broader weakness across the restaurant industry. We remain confident in key growth initiatives, including expanded national advertising and the rollout of smart kitchen technology. Early results showed this system has reduced customer service wait times by 40% within weeks of implementation, improving operational efficiency and enhancing the customer experience at minimal cost to franchisees. We are also optimistic about the planned 2026 launch of Wingstop’s loyalty program, designed to enhance customer engagement and encourage repeat business."

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 47 hedge fund portfolios held Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) at the end of the second quarter, which was 39 in the previous quarter. Wingstop Inc.’s (NASDAQ:WING) total revenue increased 12% in the second quarter to $174.3 million. While we acknowledge the potential of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) and shared ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Strategy's views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.