Guarantees and Other Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 29, 2019

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Guarantees and Other Commitments and Contingencies

Guarantees and Other Commitments and Contingencies

Except as described below, the Company did not have any significant changes in guarantees and other commitments and contingencies during the current fiscal period since those reported in the Form 10-K. Refer to the Form 10-K for further information regarding the Company’s additional commitments and obligations.

Lease Guarantees

Wendy’s has guaranteed the performance of certain leases and other obligations, primarily from former Company-operated restaurant locations now operated by franchisees, amounting to $74,898 as of September 29, 2019. These leases extend through 2056. We have not received any notice of default related to these leases as of September 29, 2019. In the event of default by a franchise owner, Wendy’s generally retains the right to acquire possession of the related restaurant locations.

Letters of Credit

As of September 29, 2019, the Company had outstanding letters of credit with various parties totaling $25,082. The outstanding letters of credit include amounts outstanding against the Series 2019-1 Class A-1 Notes. We do not expect any material loss to result from these letters of credit.

Purchase and Capital Commitments

Beverage Agreement

The Company has an agreement with a beverage vendor that provides fountain beverage products and certain marketing support funding to the Company and its franchisees. This agreement requires minimum purchases of certain fountain beverages (“Fountain Beverages”) by the Company and its franchisees at certain agreed upon prices until the total contractual gallon volume usage is reached. This agreement also provides for an annual advance to be paid to the Company based on the vendor’s expectation of the Company’s annual Fountain Beverages usage, which is amortized over actual usage during the year. In January 2019, the Company amended its contract with the beverage vendor, which now expires at the later of reaching a threshold usage requirement or December 31, 2025. Beverage purchases made by the Company under this agreement during the nine months ended September 29, 2019 were $8,417. As of September 29, 2019, the Company estimates future purchases to be approximately $2,700 for the remainder of 2019, $10,800 in 2020, $11,100 in 2021, $11,600 in 2022 and $12,100 in 2023 based on current pricing and the expected ratio of usage at Company-operated restaurants to usage at franchised restaurants.