Papa John's International

PZZA

Restaurants · Consumer Cyclical

Price

$32.86

-0.84 (-2.49%)

Market Cap

$1.08B

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is worried

Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.

Share count falling — buybacks

−6.8% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 35.3M (2021) → 32.9M (2025)

Papa John's International, Inc. operates and franchises pizza delivery and carryout restaurants under the Papa John's trademark in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants, North America Commissaries, North America Franchising, and International Operations. The company also operates dine-in and delivery restaurants under the Papa John's trademark internationally. As of December 26, 2021, it operated 5,650 Papa John's restaurants

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

2 trades / 12mo

0 Congressional buys and 2 sells on PZZA in the last 12 months.

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Score breakdown

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Quality

Gross Margin

16.0%

Thin — 16.0% gross margin

Operating Margin

5.5%

Thin — 5.5% operating margin

ROCE

8.2%

Below par — 8.2% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales YoY

-2.4%

Shrinking sales (-2.4% YoY)

EPS YoY

-64.7%

Earnings shrinking (-64.7% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

EPS Consistency

0/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

279%

Turns 279% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

1.8%

Thin free cash flow (1.8%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

N/A

—

Data not available

Interest Cover

1.03x

Dangerous — barely covers interest (1.0x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

39.1x

Pricey — P/E 39.1

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

P/E vs Forward

+14.9

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (39.1 → 24.2)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield

5.14%

Healthy income — 5.14% yield

Generous yield. Worth checking whether the payout is sustainable.

Dividend Growth

+0.0%

Dividend flat

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