Domino's Keep Slinging

Domino's Pizza, Inc. DPZ's reported first quarter results Thursday morning, which sent shares higher by more than 3 percent.

The pizza chain said it earned $1.26 per share in the quarter on revenue of $624.22 million; analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.16 per share on revenue of $615.48 million.

Here are some highlights from the quarter:

• Total revenue rose 15.8 percent from a year ago, mostly due to higher supply chain revenues from increased volumes and store growth.
• Same-store sales rose 10.2 percent in the U.S. which marks the 24th consecutive quarter of positive sales momentum.
• Same-store sales in the international segment rose 4.3 percent which marks the 93rd consecutive quarter of positive sales momentum.
• Net income for the quarter rose from $45.5 million a year ago to $62.5 million.
• Total stores as of March 26, 2017 were 14,000 versus 13,811 as of January 1.
• Domino's bought back 80,360 shares of its common stock.

Analyst: 'Solid' Report

Stephens' Will Slabaugh commented in a brief note after the results that Domino's reported a "solid" quarter, highlighted by its third consecutive quarter of triple-digit same-store sales growth.

Slabaugh argued that the earnings report solidifies his view that Domino's remains the leader in the pizza space with "substantial" white space to grow. In addition, the company holds a technological advantage versus its peers.

However, most of the positives are already priced into the stock given its 20x EBITDA multiple. As such the analyst maintained an Equal-Weight rating and $185 price target but investors should become "constructive" on any notable pullback.

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