A noisy first quarter impacted the pizza chain’s performance, but Russell Weiner said it’s better positioned for the long term because of stronger profitability and scale.

Domino’s first quarter results came in below analysts’ expectations and while executives acknowledged the impact of consumer pressures and increased competitive activity, they remain bullish about the chain’s long-term market share dominance.

Perhaps ironically, they remain so because of that competitive activity.

Indeed, during the company’s earnings call Monday before market, CEO Russell Weiner exuded a “bring it on” attitude.

“My belief in the long term … is as strong as it’s ever been,” he said.

Weiner acknowledged that Domino’s biggest competitors ramped up their promotional activity in the first quarter, which impacted sales. Papa Johns, for instance, recently ramped up its carryout deals while promoting Papa Pairings, a $6.99 mix-and-match offer for two or more items. Pizza Hut recently ran a $7 Deal Lover’s Menu, featuring two-plus items for $7 each.

Those promotions, he added, were pulled from the Domino’s playbook. And though they may have softened the company’s quarterly performance, Weiner believes it is going to position the company stronger than ever in the long term.

“We’re built to do that stuff over time,” he said. “I know the kind of volumes that need to be done in order to make deals like the ones we have out there profitable. I do not believe our competition can drive those kinds of volumes because our advertising budget is as big as the two biggest competitors combined.”

That especially bodes well in a heavy value environment, which Weiner believes will continue for the foreseeable future. Not only do Domino’s executives believe their company is better positioned to play in such an environment because of higher profitability, store growth and a bigger ad fund, but also because Domino’s is gaining share across all income cohorts, including lower-income consumers, which isn’t the case for many QSRs.

“There was a lot of noise in Q1. Through all that noise, we still saw the QSR pizza category grow, and through that noise, we did take share,” CFO Sandeep Reddy said during the call. “In the long term, we believe that the competition is not going to be able to drive the profitability they need to sustain (competitive activity).

“Our playbook has been to continue to squeeze their profits. They close stores, we take sales, we take share. We are able to continue to drive this playbook forward.”

For added context, Papa Johns average unit volumes in 2025 were $1.09 million, according to new data from Technomic, while Pizza Hut’s were $790,000. Domino’s AUVs last year were $1.4 million.

“We drive renowned value and still drive profits,” Weiner said. “Profits were up last year with our franchisees. We’re the ones that can drive profitable growth and other folks are trying to follow that lead. In the short term, they may keep more of their customers, but in the long term, I think it makes it more difficult for them to compete.”

Weiner also pointed out that those competitors are planning on closing hundreds stores this year, including about 300 at Papa Johns and approximately 250 and Pizza Hut, while Domino’s is targeting about 175 net new unit openings. Notably, in 2025, Papa Johns only opened three net new units, while Pizza Hut closed about 250 locations, or about 3.8% of its domestic system. Domino’s was just shy of opening 175 new locations last year.

Weiner said Domino’s is seeing a sales lift in markets where competitors’ closures have already taken place, adding, “I think the attrition will continue.”

“Whether it’s in store closures or less sales that lead to less profits that lead to eventual closures … it’s proof that the strategy is working,” he said. “That’s why we’re bullish. The predictor of the future is what we’ve done in the past and our ability, economically with our franchisees, to continue to push within a category we expect to grow, gain share and sales, is not something that should not continue.”

This playbook, by the way, has been in place for nearly a dozen years. Weiner said in the past 11 years, Domino’s has gained 11 points of market share by driving more sales, stores and profits. Same-store sales have grown on average more than 5% annually within that time period.

“We’ve opened more than 2,000 net new stores over the last 11 years, amidst a backdrop of significant competitive closures,” Weiner added.

Further, average franchisee profits have grown almost $80,000 per store.

“This means the Domino’s franchise system is earning $740 million more in profits than it did just 11 years ago. This has been and will remain our formula for success,” Weiner said. “More sales, more stores and more profits drive more market share. More market share drives scale, which strengthens our competitive advantage. That is the Domino’s effect, working for over a decade, delivered again in Q1, and one we expect to continue well into the future.”

Contact Alicia Kelso at Alicia.Kelso@informa.com

Source https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/dominos-ceo-bring-it-competitors-promotional-activity