Welcome to First Bite, a Nation’s Restaurant News podcast, your daily source of news from NRN hosted by Holly Petre.
Today, we’re talking about Papa Johns Q3 earnings.
After Papa Johns had seemingly taken the top performing pizza chain spot from the indomitable Domino’s this year, the company reported negative sales and revenue for the third quarter ended Sept. 25, 2022, following 12 straight quarters of outperformance. Comparatively, Papa Johns’ competitors, Pizza Hut and Domino’s both reported positive same-store sales growth, of 1% and 2% respectively, despite the staffing challenges the restaurant industry continues to face.
So, what’s to blame for the same-store sales slowdown of -1% and revenue decrease of $2 million? The challenging macroeconomic climate might have contributed to the less-than-ideal financial results in a more roundabout way. Papa Johns has always differentiated itself among its competitors as the premium pizza brand, with more of a focus on overall value than discounting. But with inflation and the uncertainty of a possible recession on the horizon, customers are spending less on restaurants and takeout.
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