One lesson all investors can glean from the legendary Warren Buffett is that successfully navigating the stock market requires patience and the discipline to stick with a long-term strategy. It's normal for stocks to face volatility with the occasional sell-off, but holding a diversified portfolio built with several high-quality companies is a proven approach to navigating through any market environment.
Domino's Pizza (DPZ 0.66%) held its fourth-quarter 2024 earnings call on February 24, 2025, revealing progress in its "Hungry for MORE" strategy implementation and market share gains despite a challenging consumer environment. The call highlighted management's focus on value leadership, operational excellence, and strategic expansion of delivery channels.
Domino's Pizza's NASDAQ: DPZ stock price action shows a buying signal following the Q4 results and 2025 outlook. The results and outlook align with many of the company's industry and S&P 500 NYSEARCA: SPY peers in that growth is present but not as robustly as anticipated, causing a reset of expectations.
DPZ's top line in fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 benefits from robust international comparable sales growth.
Warren Buffett might be the world’s greatest investor, outperforming the S&P 500 by a 2-to-1 margin over 60 years of investing, but sometimes even the Oracle of Omaha gets it wrong. Or gets in too early. That seems to be the case with his $1.1 billion investment in Domino’s (NYSE:DPZ), the quick-serve pizza shop chain that just missed big on fourth-quarter earnings. Buffett bought 1.28 million shares in the third quarter and followed it up with a 1.1 million-share purchase in the fourth, bringing the total value of his holdings to $1.1 billion, but the stock is tumbling 4.5% after Domino’s missed on the top and bottom line. 24/7 Wall St. Insights: Domino’s (DPZ) missed top and bottom line estimates in Q4 as competition and price wars hurt growth. The leading pizza chain raised its dividend 15%, keeping alive a decade-long policy of double-digit hikes. If you’re looking for some stocks with huge potential, make sure to grab a free copy of our brand-new “The Next NVIDIA” report. It features a software stock we’re confident has 10X potential. Competing for customers Tough competition and discounting to fight for customers hurt Domino’s performance in the fourth quarter Domino’s reported $1.44 billion in Q4 sales, up 2.9% from the year-ago period, generating $4.89 per share in earnings. A 9.2% increase. On the surface it seems a solid performance, but it missed analyst expectations of $4.93 per share in profits on $1.485 million in sales. Worse, it saw a charitably lackluster increase in comparable store sales of just 0.4% as competition from fast-food like McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) and Burger King who pushed value meal offerings, and the impact of a price war, caused customers to seek food elsewhere. Consumers are feeling the pinch in their pocketbooks as inflation made a u-turn and started rising again and are seeking to stretch their dollars where possible. If consumer spending continues to tighten and Domino’s can’t innovate beyond its digital and AI-driven logistics, this could mark the beginning of a prolonged slide, eroding market share and investor confidence. Still rewarding shareholders Domino’s hiked its dividend 15% in Q4. It has a near-20% CAGR n dividend hikes over the past decade Although it is a grim assessment, it’s not all bad. Despite the earnings miss, the company still posted solid year-over-year growth indicating Domino’s isn’t in free fall. The pizzeria is still very profitable and it maintains a strong market position as the largest pizza chain globally, with over 21,000 stores and over $4.7 billion in revenue. Domino’s also hiked its dividend 15% to $6.04 per share, continuing a decade-long-string of double-digit increases. It has grown the payout from $0.80 per share in 2013 to where it stands today while only 35% of its free cash flow is used to support the dividend. That highly suggests it is both secure and offers significant opportunity for even more future growth. The dividend yields 1.3%, which signals ongoing confidence in its cash flow, offering a buffer for income-focused investors. U.S. retail sales also grew 6.6% through the first three quarters of 2024, outpacing the QSR pizza category’s less than 2% growth, and Domino’s continues to dominate in online ordering, AI-driven logistics, and its delivery model. These are competitive advantages that could rebound with better economic conditions. Yet it also indicates that just because a company incorporates AI into their business, it isn’t going to result in automatic payoffs. It could provide a reality check for other businesses thinking about integrating AI into their own operations on the belief it is some magic elixir. Prospects for a turnaround If Domino’s doubles down on its “Renowned Value” strategy, leverages its global store expansion (it opened about 90 U.S. locations and over 300 international ones), and navigates price wars effectively, it could regain traction. Its biggest problem is valuation. DPZ stock goes for 28 times trailing earnings, 29 times estimates, and over 3 times sales. The restaurant industry average for P/E is 20 and for P/S is 1.3. As the leader in the pizza space, it arguably is worth the premium, particularly based on its historic success. Domino’s is in a difficult, but not hopeless position. The earnings miss is a yellow flag that should have investors taking notice as it signals short-term challenges. Consumer demand and competition are dragging it down currently, which will impact its stock price, but the pizza chain is still a good long-term buy. The new, discounted price should be considered a buy point. The post Warren Buffett’s Favorite Pizza Shop Just Missed Big appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..
Mark van Dyck, Group CEO & Managing Director of Domino's Pizza Enterprises, discusses the firm's half-year results and identifies Australia and the Benelux region as areas for strong growth.
Domino's Pizza, Inc. is a quality long-term hold; the author recommended buying under $400 and now suggests running a house position for future gains and dividend growth. Sales rose 2.9% in Q4 2024, with positive same-store sales and store count growth, despite mixed international performance and U.S. competition. Margins, earnings, and cash flow improved; net income up 7.7%, and free cash flow increased to $512 million in 2024, with ongoing share repurchases.
Domino's said it would continue with its promotional efforts such as emergency pizza.
Domino's Pizza (DPZ) sunk following its latest earnings, which Dan Ahrens attributes to people weighing "value versus price" with other companies. He calls the fast casual space full of winners like Brinker (EAT) and Cava Group (CAVA).
Domino's Pizza, Inc. (NASDAQ:DPZ ) Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call February 24, 2025 8:30 AM ET Company Participants Greg Lemenchick - Vice President, Investor Relations Russell Weiner - Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Reddy - Chief Financial Officer Conference Call Participants Dennis Geiger - UBS Brian Bittner - Oppenheimer & Company David Tarantino - Baird John Ivankoe - JPMorgan David Palmer - Evercore ISI Danilo Gargiulo - Bernstein Peter Saleh - BTIG Andrew Charles - TD Cowen Jon Tower - Citi Christine Cho - Goldman Sachs Chris O'Cull - Stifel Brian Harbour - Morgan Stanley Lauren Silberman - Deutsche Bank Jeffrey Bernstein - Barclays Jeffrey Farmer - Gordon Haskett Operator Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Domino's Pizza Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode.
Shares of pizza company Domino's Pizza (DPZ -3.94%) dropped on Monday morning after the company reported its completed financial results for 2024. As of 10:15 a.m.
DPZ's fiscal fourth-quarter top line reflects strong contributions from supply chain and U.S. franchise advertising revenues.