Why Are Papa John's (PZZA) Shares Soaring Today
What Happened:
Shares of fast-food pizza chain Papa John’s (NASDAQ:PZZA) jumped 8.6% in the morning session after the company reported fourth-quarter results that beat analysts' gross margin and EPS estimates. On the other hand, its revenue slightly missed analysts' expectations. International revenue beat, while North America revenue drove the narrow miss. The company opened 89 units during the quarter (36 in North America and 53 internationally), demonstrating the focus on driving growth as it explores new markets. Looking ahead, no guidance was given in the earnings release. Overall, this was a really good quarter that should please shareholders.
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What is the market telling us:
Papa John's's shares are somewhat volatile and over the last year have had 2 moves greater than 5%. In context of that, today's move is indicating the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
Papa John's is down 1.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $74.68 per share it is trading 13.7% below its 52-week high of $86.54 from March 2023. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Papa John's's shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,709.
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