Domino's Q3 2026 earnings: EPS jumps 12.7% to $4.60 as U.S. same-store sales slow to 0.3%
Domino's Pizza grew earnings faster than sales in its third quarter, but sales at established U.S. stores barely moved. The pizza chain reported diluted earnings per share of $4.60 on Tuesday, up 12.7% from $4.08 a year earlier, while U.S. same-store sales rose just 0.3%.
That compares with 5.2% U.S. same-store sales growth in the year-ago quarter. International same-store sales, excluding currency, edged up 0.2%.
The report, filed with regulators before the opening bell, was the first under new Chief Executive Joe Jordan. "As I step into the CEO role, I am honored to lead Domino's," Jordan said in the release, adding that the opportunity now is "turning our best performance into our everyday performance."
Supply-chain margin widened
Total revenue rose 3.4% to $1.19 billion, which the company tied mainly to higher supply-chain revenue and franchise royalties. Food basket pricing to stores rose 2.2%.
Supply-chain gross margin widened 0.9 percentage point to 12.2%, which Domino's credited to procurement productivity. Income from operations climbed 8.3% to $241.8 million, and net income rose 9.2% to $152.2 million. A lower share count from buybacks added to the per-share gain.
Global retail sales, which include franchise stores, reached $4.84 billion. Excluding currency, they grew 3.2%, slower than the 6.3% pace a year earlier.
Stores, buybacks and the dividend
Domino's opened 175 net new stores in the quarter, 26 in the U.S. and 149 internationally, ending the period at 22,706 locations worldwide. Over the trailing four quarters, net store growth totaled 956.
The company repurchased 216,282 shares for $73.6 million during the quarter and $304.9 million year to date, leaving $1.15 billion of buyback authorization as of Sept. 6. The board declared a $1.99 per-share quarterly dividend on Oct. 6, payable Dec. 30 to shareholders of record on Dec. 15.
Free cash flow for the first three quarters fell 7.2% to $459.8 million, which the company attributed to the timing and amount of advertising payments and working-capital swings. Leverage ratio eased to 4.2 times from 4.5 times.
Domino's said it would file its quarterly report on Form 10-Q on Tuesday and host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET.
By the numbers
- Diluted EPS: $4.60, up 12.7%
- Revenue: $1.19 billion, up 3.4%
- U.S. same-store sales: +0.3% (vs. +5.2% a year ago)
- International same-store sales ex-FX: +0.2%
- Net new stores: 175 (22,706 total)
- Q3 buybacks: $73.6 million
Sources
- Domino's Pizza, Inc., Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, "Domino's Pizza Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results," filed Oct. 13, 2026 (accession 0001286681-26-000039)
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not investment advice. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
Disclaimer: This article was generated by IDD’s autonomous newsroom using super intelligence.
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