Domino's Pizza Analysts Cut Estimates Citing ‘Increasingly Unfavorable Consumer Backdrop’

Shares of Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NASDAQ:DPZ) tanked in early trading on Wednesday, even after the company reported upbeat third-quarter results. Here are some key analyst takeaways: RBC Capital Markets analyst Logan Reich maintained a Sector Perform rating, while cutting the price target from $325 to $320. Benchmark analyst Todd Brooks reiterated a Buy rating, while slashing the price target from $430 to $400. BTIG analyst Peter Saleh reaffirmed a Buy rating and price target of $425. Check out other analyst stock ratings. RBC Capital Markets: Domino’s third-quarter results and full-year outlook reflected "an increasingly unfavorable consumer backdrop," which is likely to continue to "weigh on restaurants more broadly," Reich said in a note. The company’s revenues came in only slightly higher than consensus, he added. "Within reporting segments, US company owned and advertising revenue came in below," the analyst wrote. International same-store sales growth of 0.2% missed Street expectations of 1.1% and represented continued challenges outside the U.S., he further stated. Benchmark: Domino’s Pizza reported revenue of $1.186 billion, slightly higher than consensus of $1.173 billion, Brooks said. "Orders continued to grow in both the carryout and delivery channels, but fewer items per order pressured ticket size as customers managed their spending," he wrote. The analyst added, however, that the modest revenue beat translated to a "more meaningful" earnings beat. With an improvement in supply chain margins, the company reported earnings of $4.60 per share, 24 cents per share higher than Street expectations, he further stated. BTIG: Management reiterated their full-year comp outlook of low-single digit. They now expect this to be at the low-end of the range, Saleh said. Management expects order count growth to remain positive in the fourth quarter, he added. While the comp outlook was largely expected, the "more pessimistic" update was that domestic unit openings were revised lower to 125-150 net new stores from the previous guidance of 175, the analyst stated. "Pressured franchise economics drive the unit reduction, we estimate profit per store will likely be down to $150K-$155K this year, and don’t expect a recovery until this reverses course," he further wrote. DPZ Price Action: Shares of Domino’s Pizza had declined by 2.74% to $287.99 at the time of publication on Wednesday. Read Also: These Analysts Slash Their Forecasts On Domino’s Following Q3 Results Image: Shutterstock