The CEO of Domino’s Pizza says the chain is “going on offense” in the pizza value wars, and the latest sales numbers suggest that game plan is working.
Russell Weiner delivered some good news in a quarterly investors call this week as Domino’s reported same-store sales growth of 3.4% and a 5.1% increase in overall U.S. retail sales for the second quarter of 2025. That’s the highest in a year.
One major driver was the roll-out of Domino’s first-ever stuffed crust pizza near the end of Q1. Domino’s is hardly the first to the stuffed-crust pizza party—Pizza Hut famously blazed that trail 30 years ago. But Weiner told investors that the Parmesan Stuffed Crust is “one of the biggest new menu items in our history. This launch has gone extremely well and has met the high expectations that we had for it. On every level, it’s delivering incremental new customers to Domino’s.”
“In fact,” he added, “customer praise for this product has been significantly higher than any of our recent product launches….The early read shows that the addition…should be a market share catalyst for us over time. This is the big reason why Domino’s customers would go elsewhere in the past.”
Offering the stuffed crust pizza in a medium size for a lower price, meanwhile, created value perception that resonated with Domino’s cash-strapped fans. “A big reason we came out with the medium was because we knew that…the majority of [our competitors] have larges. The ability to react with competitive pricing versus a medium when all you have is a large is really difficult.”
Value has been Domino’s No. 1 marketing pitch this year, with the Domino’s Rewards loyalty program leading the way and offers like the Best Deal Ever currently running through August 3. In addition to touting several so-called “secret menu” pies, that promotion lets customers order any pizza with any toppings for $9.99.
“I think the important thing to understand right now is, whether it’s pizza or burgers or QSRs in general, there is pressure because customers are looking for value,” Weiner said. “And…we’re providing a lot of value. The big difference with Domino’s is, when we provide value, we’re going on offense. We’re doing it because we think we can grow. And I think other folks are doing it because they’re on defense.”
Domino’s revamped loyalty program is also boosting carryout sales, an ever-increasing focus for the brand. “Our carryout comps were up 5.8%, and it was our highest quarter of average carryout dollars of all time,” CFO Sandeep Reddy noted in the investors call.
“Active users continue to grow, and we expect Domino’s Rewards to be a multi-year sales driver,” Weiner said. “We have a strong slate of initiatives ready to go for the rest of the year.”
Domino’s was also the last major pizza chain to adopt third-party delivery, but now that it has completed a national roll-out with DoorDash—the country’s largest aggregator—expect the chain to show no mercy to rival chains and independents.
“The expectation is that our sales on DoorDash will build as awareness and marketing increases,” Weiner said. It will be “a meaningful driver to our U.S. comp [sales] in the back half of the year.”
Between partnerships with DoorDash and Uber Eats and now boasting “all the major crust types” on the menu, Weiner believes Domino’s is primed to up the ante in the pizza wars. “We have never had this many tools at our disposal to capture market share,” he said.
