Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Issues Earnings Results

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $498.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.25 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 1.79% and a negative return on equity of 13.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Papa John’s International’s conference call:

• Management reported meaningful progress on brand health and value perception, with Papa Rewards nearing 41 million members and Papa Dough redemptions rising from 24% to 48%, driving higher loyalty order frequency and utilization.
• Product innovation is gaining traction — the newly launched Pan Pizza is performing above expectations and tests of oven‑toasted sandwiches and a protein‑crust pizza are generating promising early results and incremental non‑pizza sales.
• Technology upgrades are underway (new unified app with ~40% faster response and +70 bps conversion, planned PAR POS rollout, and deeper Google Cloud integration) to improve digital ordering, restaurant operations, and personalization.
• Management expects at least $60 million of North American supply‑chain savings (with $20–25M realized by end of 2026) and $25 million of corporate cost reductions by 2027, targeting roughly 160 basis points of Four‑Wall EBITDA improvement by 2028.
• Near‑term pressure: 2026 guidance assumes North America comps down 2%–4%, ~200 restaurant closures in 2026 (≈300 identified by end of 2027), one‑time restructuring charges of $16–23M, and consolidated adjusted EBITDA guidance of $200–210M.

Papa John’s International Stock Performance

Shares of PZZA traded down $2.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $30.91. 3,124,250 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,166,528. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.20. Papa John’s International has a 52-week low of $30.16 and a 52-week high of $55.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.50.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. Papa John’s International’s payout ratio is presently 164.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PZZA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Papa John’s International from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Papa John’s International by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 139,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,376,000 after purchasing an additional 17,215 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 189.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 11,982 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 12,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550 shares during the last quarter. Private Capital Management LLC grew its position in Papa John’s International by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 41,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 6,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Papa John’s International in the fourth quarter worth about $758,000.

About Papa John’s International

Papa John’s International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John’s restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John’s centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.