LOUISVILLE, KY. — Louisville-based Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) reported that net sales for the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter 2020 totaled $469.8 million, a 12.5 percent increase from its fourth-quarter 2019 revenue and better than what Wall Street experts predicted, according to CNBC. Total revenue in fiscal 2020 exceeded $1.8 billion, a 12 percent improvement from 2019 amid what president and CEO Rob Lynch dubbed “one of the most challenging years in history.” (Papa John’s fiscal 2020 ended on Dec. 27.)
CNBC reports that the pizza chain’s quarterly earnings fell short of expectations based on a survey conducted by Refinitiv, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group. Papa John’s may have missed the mark for the quarterly estimates due to higher food production costs, a new corporate office and employee bonuses, according to the news outlet. Papa John’s opened a new Atlanta office in the fourth quarter, and also gave $2.7 million to its front-line team members as an end-of-the-year bonus.
Refinitiv survey takers predicted Papa John’s should have made 46 cents per share instead of the actual 40 cents it earned in the fourth quarter.
Worldwide, Papa John’s comparable store sales increased 15.5 percent in the fourth quarter. Lynch says that fourth-quarter 2020 was the third consecutive quarter of double-digit comparable sales growth and the company’s sixth consecutive positive quarterly growth.
The stock price for Papa John’s closed on Thursday, Feb. 25 at $90 per share, up from $61.51 a year ago.