Food & Beverage

Domino's, Papa John's pull out hefty stock price gains in 2020

As we head into the first trading week of the year for publicly traded pizza companies, two brands are faring well.

Photo: iStock.

January 4, 2021 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

Like a lump of dough in the hands of a world champion pizza spinner, the past 12 months have been rife with ups and downs in the stock values of publicly traded pizza companies. Still, when compared with many sectors of the restaurant community over the past year, most pizza brands have fared relatively well, given the circumstances.

In fact, of the four companies watched weekly by Pizza Marketplace, all but one gained considerable value in the eyes of investors over the last year, beginning with Domino's. The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company pulled off a nearly $90 increase in its stock value over the last 12 months.

Over the year, it moved from $293.57 last year at this time, down to a low of $270.67 before the pandemic hit the U.S. It hit a high of $434 on Oct. 2. The stock finished out the year up $89.89 when it closed at $383.46 on Dec. 31, which was actually down $13.27 from the previous week's close of $396.73.

Papa John's also fared exceptionally well over this pandemic-stricken year, closing last Thursday, Dec. 31, at $84.85, up $22.47 from the start of 2020 when the stock was listed at $62.38. Over the course of the year, the Louisville, Kentucky-based company even hit a high in late August of $101.41.

Also based in Louisville, Pizza Hut parent, Yum Brands ended the year up modestly at $108.56 on Dec. 31, a gain of $7.40 over the company's $101.16 value at the start of 2020. But at one point — March 23 — Yum Brands stock had plummeted to $56.56, perhaps showing the difference between the stock values of the aforementioned companies which are dedicated solely to pizza and Yum's value, which includes the performance of its two QSRs and one fast casual brand.

But it was, in fact, a pizza-only company that ended up being the only one of those pizza stocks monitored by this website to show a loss over 2020. Pizza Inn and Pie Five parent, Rave Restaurant Group, closed last Thursday at 91 cents, down from $1.60 at the start of 2020. The company's pizza buffet-centered brand, Pizza Inn, struggled to find its footing through a new "buffet to-go" product last year, which allowed it to recover some of that loss over the year, during which the company's stock value dropped to as low as 57 cents last March 23.

Auto fuel

The annual ups and downs of pizza company stock values weren't the only subjects making headlines over the past week, however, since these delivery-centered businesses also watched gas prices soar to their most expensive level in nine months, according to the American Automobile Association.

After months of pleasantly lower gas prices from the previous year, things are changing with AAA reported that nearly 20 states have reported gas price averages that increased at least three cents on the week, jumping the national price up to $2.25, an average not seen since stay-at-home guidance was issued in mid-March.

"December has seen the biggest pump price jump of any month this year, ending with a national average 11 cents higher than it began," Jeanette Casselano McGee, AAA spokesperson, said on the association's website. "Despite low demand, pump prices are more expensive because crude oil has seen steady gains."

Motorists can expect gas prices to rise in the coming week, but still be cheaper than the end of 2019.
Today's national average is 3 cents more than last week, 13 cents more expensive than last month, but 32 cents cheaper than last year. States that were hit the hardest by increases begin with Ohio, where average gas prices increased 15 cents on the week, followed by Michigan (+13 cents) and then Indiana (+10 cents).

The average price nationally for a gallon on unleaded regular is $2.26, which is 10 cents higher than it was a month ago. Mid-grade ($2.59) and premium ($2.86) were up 8 cents and 9 cents a gallon over last month's price, respectively. Diesel came in at $2.57, up 13 cents over the month, while at $2.03, E85 was up 8 cents on the month.

Cheese

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, cheese barrel prices fell an average of almost 3 cents to $1.50, while block gained a cent on average to come in at nearly $1.64. Barrels closed at $1.54 and 40-pound blocks closed at $1.65.

Throughout most U.S. regions, demand for cheese has been steady, with the demand for pizza cheese slightly lighter over the course of the end-of-year holidays. Cheese inventories are balanced to long in the West, but Eastern and Midwestern producers report mostly balanced inventories. Some producers have shifted production to cheeses that can age longer in order to maintain inventory levels.

Wheat

When trading ended Dec. 31, wheat averaged nearly $6.41 per bushel nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For the March 2021 contract, Chicago wheat futures again experienced a 14% gain from the start of 2020.

About S.A. Whitehead

---

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.