By Ben Coley
Domino’s Q1 didn’t meet expectations for the first quarter of 2026.
U.S. comps rose just 0.9%, lifted by marketing promotions, third-party delivery and positive order counts and average ticket, offset by negative menu mix. Carryout same-store sales increased 2.4% while delivery fell 0.3%.
Although the quarter began in the right direction, sales softened as consumer sentiment declined to COVID-level lows and inflation continued to impact purchasing decisions. Poor weather played a big role as well.
However, the most notable impact was from pizza competitors, which launched intensified value deals that were “comparable—if not identical—to the renowned value Domino’s has made famous,” according to CEO Russell Weiner.
But Domino’s isn’t fazed by the increased noise. The pizza giant doesn’t believe its peers can keep up the pace.
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“We believe Domino’s wins in a sustained value environment,” Weiner said during Domino’s Q1 earnings call. “Our advantage is profit power—the ability to offer compelling ongoing value while driving profit growth for Domino’s franchisees. Our industry-leading advertising budget drives the order counts needed to make this value model work profitably over time. Our pizza competitors simply don’t have that same capability.”
Weiner said that if other pizza players keep trying to match Domino’s value, it’s going to put pressure on their franchisees’ unit-level economics. He added that those squeezed margins will lead to more closures, which will eventually lead to sales lifts for Domino’s. This movement is already happening. Papa Johns and Pizza Hut—both of which have experienced negative sales and are considering take-private acquisitions—announced plans to shutter a combined 450 U.S. locations this year alone.
“I know the kind of volumes that need to be done in order to make deals like the ones we have out there profitable, and I do not believe that our competition can drive those kinds of volumes because of their advertising budget. And ours is as big as the biggest two competitors combined,” Weiner said. “Just can’t do that. And so believe me, I was not pleased with our results for the quarter, but I do think that there was potentially a little bit more structural damage behind the scenes, and you’ll see that I think in future quarters, in future years coming up, in store closures and in lighter franchise profits for our competitors.”
Domino’s initially targeted 3 percent U.S. same-store sales growth for 2026, but because of Q1’s sluggish start, the brand adjusted that prediction to low-single-digit growth.
However, the chain isn’t abandoning its original expectations. The hope is to recapture that pace by leaning into more pizza innovation that wasn’t originally on the planned marketing calendar. Weiner said these changes will start as soon as May.
“Our plans moving forward will look very different than they were starting the year, and that’s because we adapt to what’s going on in the broader environment,” Weiner said.
It’s important to note that 40 percent of Domino’s menu consists of non-pizza items. Some innovation could happen in these areas as well.
“We do think what we’ve got right now—with our pizza oven—all of our products can go through that, and we can make the most delicious food there. But obviously things are on the table if needed,” Weiner said.
The company believes operational improvements will lead to tailwinds too. In the first quarter, Domino’s launched a new app with upgrades to its pizza tracker, including improved accuracy on ready times and more detailed visibility into the preparation process. The chain also enhanced its back-of-house operating systems, such as new technology that alerts a store to hold an order when a driver isn’t going to be back in time.
Additionally, even though Domino’s was displeased with Q1 results, there was some good news mixed in. For example, the brand saw growth in all income cohorts, including lower income. Also, Weiner said the chain “held serve” on total delivery because of third-party aggregators, which may not have been the case years ago when those partnerships didn’t exist.
The greater opportunity is still carryout, a segment in which Domino’s has only 20 percent market share. Reddy said the channel is a “big part of how we actually look at the 3 percent same-store sales growth objective we have.”
“We have significant runway of growth on the carryout business that we can actually tap into,” the CFO said.
Weiner emphasized that Domino’s dominance in the QSR pizza space dates back more than a decade. The executive shared earlier this year that the brand has gained 11 points of market share over the past 11 years. Weiner dove into the stats even more during the Q2 earnings call: Over the same period, annual same-store sales have grown on average more than 5 percent, and the chain has opened more than 2,000 net new U.S. stores. Also, U.S. franchisee profitability has increased by nearly $80,000 per store, totaling an additional $740 million in profits for the Domino’s franchise system compared to 11 years ago.
CFO Sandeep Reddy noted that what’s happening in 2026 in terms of competitor closures and market share increases isn’t too different from 2025. Pizza Hut shuttered 375 U.S. locations last year while Papa Johns closed 86 North America units. Domino’s closed just seven locations.
“Our playbook has been to continue to squeeze their profits,” Reddy said. “They close stores, we take sales, we take share. What is happening in ’26 is no different. It’s a continuation of the same play, and that continuation of the same play should continue well beyond ’26.”
Despite the macroeconomic environment, Domino’s still projects over 175 net new stores in the U.S. this year, in addition to 800 net new restaurants internationally.
The chain finished Q1 with 7,014 domestic outlets and 14,327 international units, maintaining its reputation as the largest pizza concept in the world. Next closest is Pizza Hut, which has just under 20,000 globally.
“More sales, more stores, and more profits drive more market share,” Weiner said. “More market share drives scale, which strengthens our competitive advantage. That is the Domino’s effect. Working for over a decade, delivered again in Q1, and one we expect to continue well into the future.”
Ben Coley is the editor of PMQ Pizza’s sister publication QSR Magazine. This article originally appeared here on the QSR website.
