NEW YORK, May 20, 2026, 14:09 EDT
Krispy Kreme shares rose 14 cents, or about 4.4%, to $3.35 in Wednesday afternoon trading, outpacing broader U.S. stock trackers as former partner McDonald’s traded little changed. The S&P 500 tracker SPY was up about 0.8%, while the Nasdaq-100 tracker QQQ gained about 1.3%.
The move puts a familiar question back in front of investors: whether Krispy Kreme can turn brand heat into steadier cash generation. For DNUT, the flavor cycle is not the whole story. The balance sheet is.
The company’s latest item in the last 24 hours was a promotion for graduating students, not a financial update. Krispy Kreme said high school and college graduates could receive a free three-pack of Original Glazed doughnuts on Thursday, May 21, at participating shops, with Alison Holder, chief brand and product officer, calling it a “sweet reward” for the Class of 2026. Stock Titan
That followed Monday’s return of the Original Glazed Lemon Filled doughnut for a limited time. Krispy Kreme said the item came back after customer requests and could get a permanent slot if demand is strong; Holder said fans had been “loud, clear” about wanting it back. Stock Titan
The harder stock case still rests on the May 7 quarter. Krispy Kreme reported first-quarter net revenue of $367.0 million, down 2.2% from a year earlier, while its GAAP net loss narrowed to $22.7 million and adjusted EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a profit measure before financing and some accounting costs — rose 38% to $33.1 million. CEO Josh Charlesworth said the quarter showed “significant progress across every pillar” and that he expected “momentum to continue through 2026”; the company guided to 2026 net revenue of $1.25 billion to $1.35 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $140 million to $150 million and free cash flow of more than $15 million. Free cash flow means cash left after operating costs and capital spending. Business Wire
A filing showed how much the company has shrunk and reshaped the network behind those numbers. Krispy Kreme had 15,125 global points of access — places where fresh doughnuts can be bought — at the end of the first quarter, down 15.9% from a year earlier, and said it added 276 profitable fresh delivery doors with strategic partners while continuing to push digital sales and brand-led product launches.
That is why the recent promotions matter only at the margin. Free doughnuts and a returned lemon filling can keep the brand in front of customers, but investors are watching whether those visits land in higher-volume, lower-cost locations rather than in a sprawling delivery network that cannot pay for itself.
The competitive context is still McDonald’s. The companies said in June 2025 they would end their U.S. doughnut sale partnership by July after costs proved hard to square with demand; the rollout had reached about 2,400 McDonald’s restaurants, well short of the more than 14,000 U.S. stores initially targeted.
But the downside case is not hard to see. Krispy Kreme said in its annual filing that its turnaround could miss targets if it fails to grow fresh delivery and digital channels, if product launches or marketing do not work, if franchise or joint-venture partners underperform, or if delivery costs, maintenance needs and debt obligations bite harder than planned.
So Wednesday’s stock gain is a small vote, not a verdict. DNUT’s next real test is less about whether customers want another limited-time doughnut and more about whether the company can sell enough of them through the right doors, with less capital tied up and more cash coming back.
