Papa John's International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) saw its shares soar 5.10% in pre-market trading on Thursday, following the release of its first-quarter 2025 financial results that exceeded analyst expectations.

The pizza delivery giant reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.36, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $0.35 by 2.86%. While this represents a 46.27% decrease from the $0.67 per share earned in the same period last year, the better-than-expected performance appears to have pleased investors. Revenue for the quarter came in at $518.31 million, beating the analyst estimate of $513.55 million by 0.93% and showing a slight increase of 0.85% compared to the $513.92 million reported in the same quarter of the previous year.

Despite the year-over-year earnings decline, Papa John's ability to top both earnings and revenue estimates in a challenging economic environment seems to have boosted investor confidence. The company also reiterated its 2025 annual guidance, suggesting management's continued optimism about Papa John's performance for the rest of the year. This combination of better-than-expected quarterly results and a positive outlook for the full year appears to be driving the stock's pre-market rally.