MW Papa John's says it's focusing on value in a tough pizza market

By Steve Gelsi

Chief Executive Todd Penegor says he's pleased with 'early progress' in the pizza chain's transformation

Papa John's International Inc. said it's focusing on value and getting consumers to spend more as it works to win market share in what's expected to be a flat-to-down quick-service restaurant market in 2025.

Chief Executive Todd Penegor said he's pleased with Papa John's $(PZZA)$ "early progress" in its transformation to improve its value perception, simplify operations and build up its digital and loyalty programs. Penegor took on the job in August.

Papa John's stock rose 0.3% Thursday.

"Our first and foremost job was to get ourselves back in position around the value perception of the brand," Penegor told analysts, according to a transcript.

Papa John's has managed to get consumers to buy food more frequently, and it is now going to focus on trying to get them to spend more money.

"The opportunity is now to work them up on check, and we would start to see [that] during the course of the year, you know, as we build some momentum," he said.

The company said it saw its highest sales day for Super Bowl Sunday and for Valentines Day, when it offered a heart-shaped pizza.

Papa John's said its fourth-quarter earnings fell to 44 cents a share from 79 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.

Adjusted fourth-quarter profit of 63 cents a share topped the FactSet consensus estimate of 50 cents a share.

Revenue fell 7% to $531 million, above the analyst estimate of $516.6 million.

The company ended the quarter with 6,030 restaurants operating in 51 countries and territories.

Looking ahead, Papa John's said it expects systemwide sales growth of 2% to 5% in 2025, with North American comparable sales flat to up 2%.

-Steve Gelsi

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February 27, 2025 10:32 ET (15:32 GMT)

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