Papa John's International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) stock surged 5.10% in pre-market trading following the release of its first-quarter 2025 financial results, which exceeded analyst expectations. The pizza chain reported better-than-anticipated earnings and revenue figures, demonstrating resilience in a challenging market environment.

For the first quarter, Papa John's posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) 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 reported in the same period last year, investors appear to be focusing on the earnings beat. The company's revenue also impressed, coming in at $518.31 million, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $513.55 million by 0.93%. This marks a 0.85% increase over sales of $513.92 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

Despite the year-over-year earnings decline, Papa John's management expressed confidence in the company's outlook by reiterating its 2025 annual guidance. This move suggests that the company anticipates continued growth and operational improvements throughout the year, which likely contributed to the positive investor sentiment reflected in the pre-market stock surge.