Yet another thing to hang on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump: lackluster sales at Wendy's.

Yet another thing to hang on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump: lackluster sales at Wendy's.

"There is a lot of uncertainty in the consumer mind as we work through the election," said Wendy's CEO Todd Penegor, citing the charged presidential race between Clinton and Trump as one drag on the fast-food industry this year.

The election has cast a malaise on consumers, Penegor said, and the effect on the company was exacerbated in its second quarter by limited-time offers such as the mozzarella bacon burger that fell flat, the ongoing fallout of a recent data breach at franchise locations, and falling food prices at grocery stores.

Together, these forces have depressed sales: Wendy's posted a 0.4 percent increase in same-store sales, just a fraction of the growth in previous quarters.

The lower costs of groceries, especially eggs, beef and milk, have eaten away at fast food's top selling point � it's cheap. Eating at home is cheaper than dining out by the widest margin since 2010, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"It has gotten a lot cheaper to go and get fresh beef at your local butcher and go home and grill it," Penegor told analysts on an earnings call.

Analysts polled by FactSet forecast a 2.4 percent increase in same-store sales, an important industry measure. Wendy's did attract more customer traffic in its restaurants and posted a bigger profit than expected, but analysts warn that the worst is not over for the fast-food set.

"While Wendy's does not say this," Mark Kalinowski, an analyst for Nomura, wrote in a research note, "we believe that July was the worst month for U.S. quick-service burger-sector same-store sales so far this year. This may not bode well for the rest of 2016."

Later this year, Wendy's will lap its October 2015 rollout of the hit 4-for-$4 value meal, which will be hard to beat, Kalinowski said. Penegor acknowledged on the call that same-store sales for the rest of 2016 might be flat.

Although many chains have struggled to maintain sales growth this year � earlier this week, Steak 'n Shake posted negative same-store sales results for the first time in more than seven years � some signs point to a better second half of the year.

Continued job and wage growth, coupled with low gasoline prices, should induce consumers to dine out, said Stephen Anderson, an analyst with Maxim Group, in a recent research note on the restaurant industry.

"Barring any dramatic shift," Anderson said, "in the meantime, we anticipate modest improvement in restaurant spending in the next six to 12 months."

Although lower beef prices might have kept some burger eaters at home, they also have helped Wendy's bottom line. Lower commodity costs offset much of the inflation the company has seen in wages, according to Gunther Plosch, the company's chief financial officer.

Wendy's narrowed its profit forecast for all of 2016, bumping its range of expected earnings per share to 39 to 40 cents from 38 to 40 cents.

Wendy's shares fell 2.75 percent Wednesday, closing at $9.91.

jmalone@dispatch.com

@j_d_malone