A menu misfire could be to blame for Domino’s essentially flat same-store sales in the second quarter of 2026. But higher order counts still translated to an overall positive quarter for the brand—and CEO Russell Weiner says that’s the secret to long-term success.

Order volume drove a tiny increase in year-over-year same-store sales—just 0.1%. Compare that to a rise of 3.4% in comp sales for the second quarter of 2025, and it appears that the No. 1 pizza chain hasn’t escaped the current QSR slowdown unscathed.

Even so, as an on again/off again war with Iraq created frequent spikes in gas prices and inflation remained painfully high at grocery stores, Domino’s gets to call Q2 a win, as Weiner said in a statement released prior to Monday morning’s earnings call with investors. “In a quarter where the broader U.S. QSR industry continued to face pressure on consumer demand, Domino’s generated order count growth across both our delivery and carryout businesses, bringing millions of new customers to our brand.”

In that earnings call, Weiner delved further—and at length—into the importance of order count. “The most important lesson I have learned in nearly two decades with Domino’s, it’s simple,” he said. “Order counts drive long-term success. Order counts matter because they fuel growth for both the brand and our franchisees. The winners in QSR over time are the brands that can grow order counts while driving healthy ticket [averages] through disciplined pricing. That has been Domino’s formula for success.”

He added that the quick-service sector as a whole “has been struggling with order counts during a difficult period of macroeconomic uncertainty. We believe this continued in Q2, where QSR order counts were flat.” But, he added, “While other restaurants were fighting for orders, millions of new customers came to Domino’s.”

In short, he said, two straight quarters of order count growth in 2026 means “more people are ordering Domino’s than ever before.”

On the downside, Weiner suggested that this past quarter’s same-store sales were hindered by a single misfire: ticket averages. In March 2025, Domino’s launched its Parmesan Stuffed Crust Pizza, a higher-ticket item that boosted the average amount customers spent per order and likely shifted the sales mix toward pricier pizzas. However, its success made for a tough comparison between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026 sales.

For the latest quarter, Domino’s debuted its new Slice Sauce in early April 2026, pairing it with premium menu items like the Parmesan Stuffed Crust and Handmade Pan pizzas. “This did not resonate with customers the way it needed to,” Weiner told investors. “The messaging wasn’t compelling enough. The result was a drag on ticket, which impacted our results.”

Weiner said he expects the quality of the brand’s messaging to be “back at the high bar we set at Domino’s” in the next quarter. He also hinted at a new signature pizza offering coming down the pipeline in Q3. Without going into detail, he called it a “pizza innovation…that is unlike anything we’ve offered before at Domino’s.”

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