Wendy's 2014 Annual Report Download - page 6

• anticipated or unanticipated restaurant closures by us and our franchisees;
• our ability to identify, attract and retain potential franchisees with sufficient experience and financial
resources to develop and operate Wendy’s restaurants successfully;
• availability of qualified restaurant personnel to us and to our franchisees, and the ability to retain such
personnel;
• our ability, if necessary, to secure alternative distribution of supplies of food, equipment and other
products to Wendy’s restaurants at competitive rates and in adequate amounts, and the potential financial
impact of any interruptions in such distribution;
• availability and cost of insurance;
• adverse weather conditions;
• availability, terms (including changes in interest rates) and deployment of capital;
• changes in, and our ability to comply with, legal, regulatory or similar requirements, including franchising
laws, payment card industry rules, overtime rules, minimum wage rates, wage and hour laws, government-
mandated health care benefits, tax legislation, federal ethanol policy and accounting standards;
• the costs, uncertainties and other effects of legal, environmental and administrative proceedings;
• the effects of charges for impairment of goodwill or for the impairment of other long-lived assets;
• the effects of war or terrorist activities, or security breaches of our computer systems;
• the difficulty in predicting the ultimate costs associated with the sale of company-owned restaurants to
franchisees, employee termination costs, the timing of payments made and received, the results of
negotiations with landlords, the impact of the sale of restaurants on ongoing operations, any tax impact
from the sale of restaurants, and the future impact to the Company’s earnings, restaurant operating
margins, cash flow and depreciation;
• the difficulty in predicting the ultimate costs that will be incurred in connection with the Company’s plan
to reduce its general and administrative expense, and the future impact on the Company’s earnings;
• the possibility that the Company will not be able to recapitalize its balance sheet on acceptable terms, as
well as risks associated with such plan, including the ability to generate sufficient cash flow to meet
increased debt service obligations, compliance with operational and financial covenants, and restrictions on
the Company’s ability to raise additional capital following completion of a recapitalization transaction; and
• other risks and uncertainties affecting us and our subsidiaries referred to in this Annual Report on Form
10-K (see especially “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations”) and in our other current and periodic filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
All future written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are
expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. New risks and
uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events or how they may affect us. We
assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K as
a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by Federal securities laws. In addition,
it is our policy generally not to endorse any projections regarding future performance that may be made by third
parties.
Item 1. Business.
Introduction
The Wendy’s Company (“The Wendy’s Company”) is the parent company of its 100% owned subsidiary
holding company Wendy’s Restaurants, LLC (“Wendy’s Restaurants”). Wendy’s Restaurants is the parent company
of Wendy’s International, LLC, formerly known as Wendy’s International, Inc. (“Wendy’s”), which is the owner and
franchisor of the Wendy’s®restaurant system in the United States. As used in this report, unless the context requires
otherwise, the term “Company” refers to The Wendy’s Company and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.
2