Fast-food pizza chain Domino’s (NASDAQ: DPZ) fell short of the market’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2026 as sales rose 3.5% year on year to $1.15 billion. Its GAAP profit of $4.13 per share was 3.3% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy Domino's? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.
Domino's (DPZ) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $1.15 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.16 billion (3.5% year-on-year growth, 1% miss)
- EPS (GAAP): $4.13 vs analyst expectations of $4.27 (3.3% miss)
- Operating Margin: 20%, up from 18.9% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 12.8%, down from 14.8% in the same quarter last year
- Locations: 22,322 at quarter end, up from 21,358 in the same quarter last year
- Same-Store Sales were flat year on year, in line with the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $12.37 billion
"Q1 2026 represented another quarter of positive order count and market share growth for Domino's in the U.S.," said Russell Weiner, Domino's Chief Executive Officer.
Company Overview
Founded by two brothers in Michigan, Domino’s (NASDAQ: DPZ) is a globally recognized pizza chain known for its creative marketing and fast delivery.
Revenue Growth
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years.
With $4.98 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Domino's is one of the larger restaurant chains in the industry and benefits from a well-known brand that influences consumer purchasing decisions. However, its scale is a double-edged sword because there is only so much real estate to build restaurants, placing a ceiling on its growth. To accelerate system-wide sales, Domino's likely needs to optimize its pricing or lean into new chains and international expansion.
As you can see below, Domino's grew its sales at a tepid 5.2% compounded annual growth rate over the last seven years, but to its credit, it opened new restaurants and increased sales at existing, established dining locations.
This quarter, Domino’s revenue grew by 3.5% year on year to $1.15 billion, falling short of Wall Street’s estimates.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 7.2% over the next 12 months, an acceleration versus the last seven years. This projection is above the sector average and implies its newer menu offerings will catalyze better top-line performance.
ONE MORE THING: The $21 AI Application Stock Wall Street Forgot. While Wall Street obsesses over who’s building AI, one company is already using it to print money. And nobody’s paying attention.
AI chip stocks trade at ridiculous valuations. This company processes a trillion consumer signals monthly using AI and trades at a third of the price. The gap won’t last. The institutions will figure it out. You need to see this first. Read the FREE Report Before They Notice.
Restaurant Performance
Number of Restaurants
A restaurant chain’s total number of dining locations often determines how much revenue it can generate.
Domino's operated 22,322 locations in the latest quarter. It has opened new restaurants at a rapid clip over the last two years, averaging 3.6% annual growth, much faster than the broader restaurant sector. Additionally, one dynamic making expansion more seamless is the company’s franchise model, where franchisees are primarily responsible for opening new restaurants while Domino's provides support.
When a chain opens new restaurants, it usually means it’s investing for growth because there’s healthy demand for its meals and there are markets where its concepts have few or no locations.
Same-Store Sales
The change in a company's restaurant base only tells one side of the story. The other is the performance of its existing locations, which informs management teams whether they should expand or downsize their physical footprints. Same-store sales gives us insight into this topic because it measures organic growth at restaurants open for at least a year.
Domino’s demand rose over the last two years and slightly outpaced the industry. On average, the company’s same-store sales have grown by 2.2% per year. This performance suggests its rollout of new restaurants could be beneficial for shareholders. When a chain has demand, more locations should help it reach more customers and boost revenue growth.
In the latest quarter, Domino’s year on year same-store sales were flat. This was a meaningful deceleration from its historical levels. We’ll be watching closely to see if Domino's can reaccelerate growth.
Key Takeaways from Domino’s Q1 Results
Domino's revenue slightly missed as its same-store sales fell slightly short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a softer quarter. The stock traded down 3.1% to $356.03 immediately following the results.
So should you invest in Domino's right now? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
