Domino’s Pizza reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.186 billion, up 3.4% year over year, while diluted earnings per share rose 12.7% to $4.60. Despite beating analysts’ expectations, the pizza franchise brand recorded U.S. same-store sales growth of just 0.3% and lowered its 2026 target for net new domestic stores to 125–150, citing economic headwinds and pressure on franchisee profitability.
Domino’s operates more than 22,700 locations across approximately 90 countries, making it the largest pizza delivery chain by unit count. The third-quarter results, released October 13, follow a second quarter in which domestic same-store sales also posted modest growth. The chain has been running a discounting-heavy promotional calendar in 2026 to rebuild order frequency, a strategy that is generating traffic while compressing per-transaction economics for franchise operators.
Q3 Results: Revenue and Profit Outperform, But Store Growth Slows
The company added 175 net new stores during the quarter, with 26 in the United States and 149 internationally, bringing the global network to 22,706 locations. Operating income rose 8.5% excluding currency movements and refranchising impacts, slightly ahead of analyst expectations.
Global retail sales increased 3.2% on a constant-currency basis. The company repurchased approximately 849,000 shares for $305 million through the first nine months of the year, with $1.15 billion remaining under its current buyback authorization. Leverage stands at 4.2x EBITDA, below the company’s self-declared target range of 4x to 6x.
U.S. Consumers Visit More Often but Order Less Per Trip
U.S. same-store sales grew 0.3% in Q3, with franchise stores matching that pace. The figure reflects a 1.2% average ticket increase driven primarily by price, offset by a decline in items per order in both the carryout (+1.0% comps) and delivery (-0.3%) channels.
The pattern suggests that visit frequency has held up under promotion, but guests are ordering fewer items per trip to manage their spend. International same-store sales grew 0.2%, weighed down by underperformance at Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (DPE), the Australian-listed master franchisee covering Europe and Japan, which management does not expect to improve materially until 2027.
Domino’s Trims Its U.S. Store Opening Forecast, Citing Franchisee Returns
The most significant signal from the third-quarter earnings call was the revision to full-year domestic development guidance. Domino’s lowered its 2026 U.S. net new store target to a range of 125 to 150 units, down from prior projections.
CFO Sandeep Reddy framed the adjustment as a direct consequence of franchisee profitability: when operators are not generating adequate returns, they pull back on the capital commitments required to sign and build new locations. Reddy specified that the cut is “not at all about closures,” but the reduction signals that the discounting strategy, while beneficial for visit counts, has not yet translated into the unit economics needed to sustain domestic development at prior rates.
International Headwinds and a Revised Full-Year Earnings Target
International same-store sales growth is expected to remain roughly flat for the full year. The DPE drag is the primary factor, and management has not provided a recovery timeline earlier than 2027. Full-year operating income growth guidance has been revised to the mid-single-digit range, down from earlier projections.
Despite these revisions, the company highlighted that its global store network grew by more than 950 net new locations over the trailing twelve months, concentrated in international markets where franchisee returns are holding up better than in the United States. The trajectory of domestic unit economics in the fourth quarter will be a closely watched indicator for the 2027 development pipeline.
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Domino’s lowered its 2026 U.S. net new store target to 125 to 150 units, down from prior guidance, citing franchisee profitability pressure as the direct cause of the reduction.
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