Papa John's (PZZA) Q4 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates

For the quarter ended December 2025, Papa John's (PZZA) reported revenue of $498.18 million, down 6.1% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.34, compared to $0.63 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $514.89 million, representing a surprise of -3.25%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +2.5%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $0.33.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.

Here is how Papa John's performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Number of Restaurants - Papa John's - Company-owned - Domestic: 462 versus 462 estimated by four analysts on average.
• Number of Restaurants - Papa John's - Company-owned - International: 13 compared to the 13 average estimate based on four analysts.
• Comparable sales growth - North America restaurants: -5.4% versus -4.1% estimated by four analysts on average.
• Comparable sales growth - North America franchised restaurants: -5.3% versus the four-analyst average estimate of -1.8%.
• Comparable sales growth - Domestic company-owned restaurants: -5.7% versus the four-analyst average estimate of -0.3%.
• Number of Restaurants - Total Franchised(Franchised North America+International Franchised): 5,608 compared to the 5,624 average estimate based on four analysts.
• Number of Restaurants - System-wide: 6,083 versus 6,099 estimated by four analysts on average.
• Revenues- Company-owned restaurant sales: $154.37 million compared to the $164.97 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of -13.1% year over year.
• Revenues- Franchise royalties and fees: $47.54 million compared to the $47.39 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +0.1% year over year.
• Revenues- Advertising funds revenue: $37.22 million compared to the $44.21 million average estimate based on four analysts.
• Revenues- Other revenues: $22.21 million compared to the $22.59 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of -2.7% year over year.
• Revenues- Commissary revenues: $236.85 million compared to the $236.18 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of -0.8% year over year.

View all Key Company Metrics for Papa John's here>>>

Shares of Papa John's have returned -5.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.6% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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