Papa John's Fourth Quarter Earnings Tops Estimates

On Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, Papa John’s Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) announced that earnings for its fourth-quarter beat the expectation of analysts, as well as exceeding the top and bottom lines. The further disclosed that this milestone achieved was boosted by high same-store sales, which was a definite strategy to turn the brand around.

Below are the figures for the fourth-quarter earnings for Papa John’s alongside the estimates of Bloomberg.

Revenue: $417.5 million vs. $403.8 million expected

Adjusted earnings per share: 37 cents vs. 32 cents expected

US same-store sales: +4.1% vs. +2.3% expected.

The fourth-quarter earnings of Papa John’s are coming after its rival, Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) announced its mouth-watering fourth-quarter earnings that made its shares soar.

The pizza-maker revealed on Nov. 6.2019, that a big management reshuffle was needed in order to stabilize the company after it experienced a downturn that was triggered by the messy ouster of the founder, John Schnatter. The reshuffle according to the company was a means to bring in a “new, more streamlined senior management team...[that] aligns with the company’s new strategy and priorities.”

As investors awaited the fourth-quarter earnings report, shares of the company rose by over 60% from exactly a year ago and making it climb by over 12% in the last year. In a statement, Papa John’s CEO, Rob Lynch said, “Papa John’s accelerated its turn-around in the fourth quarter with a second consecutive quarter of positive comparable sales, positioning us for a strong start to 2020.”

He further said, “The company’s new focused priorities and a more inclusive, winning culture are empowering our team members to innovate our products and marketing, drive sales growth, improve efficiencies and achieve better results for all of our stakeholders. Our 2020 plan accelerates this momentum, as we work to become the world’s best pizza company and deliver strong, long-term profit growth.”

The 2020 adjusted earnings guidance for the company seems a bit softer than expectations. The 2020 expected adjusted earnings of the company stand at $1.35 per share to $1.55 per share, while that of analysts stands at $1.52 per share. The company also expects that same-store sales in North America will rise between 2.5% to 5% and those of international segments will rise by 1.5% to 4%.

The current CEO, Lynch assumed office on Aug. 27, 2019, after succeeding Steve Ritche. Before joining Papa John’s, Lynch worked with the president of Arby’s, and also held leadership positions at Procter & Gamble and Taco Bell, respectively.