Domino’s CEO says return of late-night, weekend orders fueling sales growth during Covid reopening

Domino’s Pizza CEO Ritch Allison told CNBC on Thursday the Covid economic reopening has actually provided a boost for the company, helping fuel same-store sales growth during the second quarter.

In an interview with Jim Cramer on “Mad Money,” Allison said that while the pizza chain certainly benefited from a pandemic-related rise in takeout and delivery orders last year, the company also had to weather a loss of sales at key times such as weekends.

Now, as health restrictions ease, that part of its business is returning, Allison said. The comments came after Domino’s stock hit an all-time high Thursday and finished up 14.55% Thursday, as Wall Street cheered the company’s better-than-expected quarterly results released before the bell.

“Back during Covid, we did get a nice tailwind on the delivery business, particularly during the week and at lunch time, you know some dayparts that weren’t normally as big for us while folks were at home,” Allison said.

“Here, as we get into the reopening of the country, we’re starting to get some of that business back that actually faced a little bit of a headwind last year,” added Allison, who has served as Domino’s CEO since July 2018. “Think about late-night business. Think about the weekend business when people are gathering to watch a game or have a family event or something like that. That went away last year. It’s coming back this year.”

Domino’s same-store sales rose 3.5% in the second quarter. In the second quarter last year, fueled by Covid restrictions, the company’s same-store sales — a metric closely watched by investors — jumped 16.1%.

Domino’s on Thursday also reported per-share earnings of $3.12 and sales of $1.03 billion, both of which topped Wall Street forecasts, according to Refinitiv. Analysts were looking for earnings of $2.87 per share and revenue of $972.3 million.

Shares of Michigan-based Domino’s are up 40.52% so far year to date.