Krispy Kreme, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNUT) shares are trading higher on Thursday.

A turnaround pivot — closing weak doors, trimming McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)-related costs, and doubling down on capital-light international franchising — wins investors despite a third-quarter sales miss.

The company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of one cent, beating the analyst consensus estimate of a five-cent loss.

Also Read: Papa John’s Takes A Slice Off Guidance As Sales Go Cold

Q3 Marks A ‘Significant Pivot’

Quarterly sales of $375.300 million missed the Street view of $378.285 million. Organic revenue increased 0.6%, primarily driven by growth in the International segment.

The organic revenue increase reflects a Global Points of Access decline of 960, or 6.1%, impacted by the strategic closure of underperforming doors.

“The third quarter marked a significant pivot as we implemented our comprehensive turnaround plan focused on Krispy Kreme’s two biggest opportunities: profitable U.S. expansion and capital-light international franchise growth,” said Krispy Kreme CEO Josh Charlesworth.

“I am particularly pleased by the ongoing optimization and profitable expansion of our U.S. fresh delivery model, productivity improvements, and the removal of costs related to our now-ended McDonald’s USA partnership,” the CEO added.

U.S. segment net revenue fell about 5.3% to $216.2 million. The decline was mainly tied to the 2024 sale of a majority stake in Insomnia Cookies, which contributed $10 million in the last quarter of 2022.

In the quarter under review, the company reported an operating loss of $7.2 million, lower than $16 million loss a year ago/

Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter under review grew 17% to $40.6 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 170 basis points to 10.8%.

As of Sept. 28, 2025, the company had $215.2 million in total available liquidity. That included $30.7 million in cash and cash equivalents and $184.5 million in undrawn committed credit capacity.

“Looking ahead to the remainder of 2025 and beyond, we expect further improvement in adjusted EBITDA and positive free cash flow,” Charlesworth said.

Price Action: DNUT shares are trading higher by 4.77% to $3.955 at last check Thursday.

Read Next:

• DoorDash Posts Downbeat Q3 Earnings, Joins elf Beauty, Duolingo, HubSpot And Other Big Stocks Moving Lower In Thursday's Pre-Market Session

Image: Shutterstock