Food & Beverage

Investors continue doting on Domino's

While the trade floor devotion to Domino's continues unabated, dairy farmers might be developing soft spots for pizza restaurateurs, whose business is keeping cheese producers in the money.

Photo: iStock

September 28, 2020 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

In pizza restaurant company trading last week, there was Domino's, and then there was everybody else. The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based brand just keeps dynamiting through to higher values, closing last Friday up $20.24 to finish the week at $418.08.

And while soaring stock values of the 60-year-old chain resembles that for the ascent of Mt. Everest, the three other publicly traded pizza brands tracked by Pizza Marketplace gently descended with Pizza Hut parent, Yum Brands closing 73 cents down Friday at $91.38. Papa John's International Inc. ended Friday at $81.64, down 72 cents from the previous week's close.

Lastly, Pie Five and Pizza Inn parent, Rave Restaurant Group, fell 4 cents on the week to close Friday just under the 46-cent mark.

Cheese

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, cheese barrels closed at $1.66 Friday, while 40-pound blocks ended the week at $2.56. The weekly average for barrels was up 2 cents to $1.64, while blocks also gained a couple of cents to average $2.58 for the week.

The more than 90-cent spread between blocks and barrels continues to perplex market bulls, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its sources. Historical patterns indicate the two market prices will converge but it remains unclear whether block prices will ebb, barrels prices strengthen or the two will meet in the middle.

Cheese production remains mostly busy throughout the country, and demand is mixed. Foodservice orders, however, have ticked up week to week. Mozzarella and other pizza-style cheese producers are saying orders have been increasing, as pizza orders have remained strong despite COVID-19 related restrictions on the restaurant industry.

Wheat

On the Chicago Board of Trade, soft red winter futures dropped 31 cents to end at $5.44 per bushel (bu.), the U.S.D.A. said, while Kansas City Board of Trade hard red winter futures fell 29 cents to close at $4.75/bu. On the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, hard red spring futures lost 21 cents to end at $5.30/bu.

Commercial sales of wheat were up 5% from the previous week, while commercial sales of 13.5 million metric tons of the commodity are 7% ahead of last year.

Vehicle fuel

Last week, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline increased by a penny to $2.19, which is still down 47 cents from last year at this time. In the new weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration was slightly up to 8.52 million barrels a day (b/d) from 8.48 million b/d the previous week.

According to the American Automobile Association, the slight growth in demand, alongside total domestic stocks falling by 4 million barrels (bbl) to 227.5 million bbl has ended up increasing pump prices.

The biggest weekly increases in price for gas last week were in Ohio (+14 cents), followed by Michigan (+13 cents), Kentucky (+12 cents) and Indiana (+10 cents).

This morning the U.S. average price for a gallon of unleaded regular was $2.19, mid-grade ($2.53), premium ($2.80) and diesel ($2.39) were all down 4 cents from the price paid for each a month ago on average. E85 was down just 2 cents from a month ago at $2 on average.

Natural gas

Natural gas spot price movements are mixed for the latest seven-day-report that ended on Sept. 23. The Henry Hub spot price fell from $2.06 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $1.74/MMBtu yesterday.

The natural gas plant liquids composite price at Mont Belvieu, Texas, fell by 1 cent/MMBtu, averaging $4.76/MMBtu for the week ending Sept. 23. The price of ethane fell by 15% as a result of ethylene plants in the path of Hurricane Laura that remained shuttered, resulting in an oversupply situation. The prices of propane, natural gasoline, and butane rose by 7%, 6% and 4%, respectively. The price of isobutane remained flat week over week.

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.