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Papa John's ekes out a win in trading, other public brands drop over tough week

Papa John's actually managed to climb during trading over the last devastating week for the restaurant industry. Other publicly traded brands did not fare so well, with Rave Restaurant Group dropping to the levels it fetched 11 years earlier.

Papa John's manages to gain in value over a devastating trading week for most publicly traded pizza brands. (Image: iStock file)

March 23, 2020 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

The devastation that pizza brands have faced over the last week is riveting, with some falling to their lowest prices in more than a decade. The exception was Louisville, Kentucky-based Papa John's, which actually gained $1.35 in value over the week's trading to close Friday at $51. In fact, the company said it was hiring 20,000 team members this week to support business in its communities. 

Domino's also announced it was hiring about 10,000 employees to support business as people order from home, although its stock price fell  $16.68 last week to end at $299.95 — down $77.30 from its peak on Feb. 26, when it hit $377.25.  

Pizza Hut parent and multi-QSR company Yum Brands was in a similar situation. Its stock value was down to its March 2015 trading price Friday when it closed at $58.08, down $20.39 from the previous week's close and $42.38 lower than the high point that it had reached last month.  

Rave Restaurant Group also faltered, although not significantly over the week when it lost just 2 cents in value to close Friday at 86 cents. But sadly, that level is back to where the company was trading 11 years ago in March 2009. 

Cheese

Barrels closed at $1.43, while 40-pound blocks ended at $1.84, still widening the disparity in prices between the two, which has been a cause for worry on cheese markets for some time. The weekly average for barrels was off less than a penny to $1.45, while blocks on average sailed up 7 cents over the week to average $1.86 on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Throughout the country, retail orders for cheese have climbed, while restaurant orders have nearly dissolved, the U.S.D.A. said, all related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent "shelter-in-place" rules in many areas of the U.S. 

As a result, grocery store shelves have been cleared of most necessities and milk, butter, cheese and yogurt are among that list. But on the other side of the fence, cheese producers who are significantly affected by school and restaurant closures or other constraints on business, proving that the ripple effects of the pandemic are more like tsunamis. 

Wheat

Compared to last week, cash bids for wheat were mostly higher, ranging from 5 cents lower to 62 3/4 cents higher.  Kansas City U.S. No. 1 Hard Red Winter, ordinary protein rail bid was 62 ¾ cents higher, from $5.75 1/2-$5.85 1/2 per bushel. Kansas City U.S. No. 2 Soft Red winter rail bid was not quoted.  

St. Louis truck U.S. No. 2 Soft Red Winter terminal bid was 28 cents higher at $5.66 per bushel. Minneapolis and Duluth U.S. No. 1 Dark Northern Spring, 14.0 to 14.5 percent protein rail, was 30 3/4 to 40 3/4 cents higher at $6.79 3/4 per bushel. Portland U.S. Soft White wheat rail was 5 cents lower at $5.80 per bushel.
Vehicle fuel

With many restaurants now operating solely on delivery and carry-out basis, one ray of hope has emerged from the national gas price picture, which is showing the lowest prices since 2016. The American Automobile Association said that the average price of a gallon of regular now is at $2.13, down 12 cents from last week and a whopping 35 cents since last month. Mid-grade ($2.51) and premium ($2.77) followed suit with the same plummeting price trends, AAA said. 

Diesel prices hovered around $2.67, which is 21 cents lower than this time last month, while E85 was averaging $1.89. down 32 cents from last month. The biggest weekly decreases in price were in the Midwest states of Wisconsin, North Dakota and Ohio. 

Natural gas

Natural gas spot prices fell at most locations for the report week that ended March 18. The Henry Hub spot price fell from $1.92 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $1.65/MMBtu yesterday.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of the April 2020 contract decreased 27 cents, from $1.88/MMBtu last Wednesday to $1.60/MMBtu yesterday, the lowest front-month price since March 2016. The price of the 12-month strip averaging April 2020 through March 2021 futures contracts declined 15 cents/MMBtu to $2.083/MMBtu.

The natural gas plant liquids composite price at Mont Belvieu, Texas, fell by 57 cents/MMBtu, averaging $3.12/MMBtu for the week ending March 18. The prices of natural gasoline, butane, and isobutane also fell by 32%, 20%, and 16%, with ethane and propane falling by 11%, and 7%, respectively.

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About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.