Wingstop (WING) Fell Along with the Broader Restaurant Industry

Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Small Cap Fund” third-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Global equities continue to rally in the third quarter, the period with double-digit YTD gains. Major US indices like Russell 1000®, Russell Midcap®, and Russell 2000® reached record highs in the period. In the quarter, the fund’s Investor Class fund ARTSX returned 8.69%, Advisor Class fund APDSX posted a return of 8.75%, and Institutional Class fund APHSX returned 8.73%, compared to a return of 12.19% for the Russell 2000 Growth Index. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to find out its best picks for 2025.

In its third-quarter 2025 investor letter, Artisan Small 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 -8.55%, and its shares lost 28.93% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On November 14, 2025, Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) stock closed at $232.89 per share, with a market capitalization of $6.482 billion.

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

“Outside of our software holdings, other Q3 detractors included Twist Bioscience, MACOM Technology Solutions and Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING). 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 smart kitchen technology 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.”

Was Jim Cramer Right About Wingstop Inc. (WING)?

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 in the third quarter increased 8.1% year-over-year to $175.7 million. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we covered Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) and shared the list of stocks to buy with over 50% upside potential. 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.