Papa John's and Domino's Pizza sales are soaring

Papa John’s reported same-store sales in North America surged 33.5% during the month of May, up from 26.9% in April, according to a business update released by the company Wednesday. Yahoo Finance's Heidi Chung joins Zack Guzman to discuss.

Video Transcript

ZACK GUZMAN: Chatting food here because pizza delivery is seeing a big boost. The latest to share that update would be Papa John's, saying that sales in North America surged 33% during the month of May. That would be up considerably over April. For more on that, I want to get back to Yahoo Finance's Heidi Chung with the update on the pizza front. Heidi?

HEIDI CHUNG: Hey, Zack. Yeah, we've been talking a lot about the restaurant industry, but it's mostly been bad news. We finally have some good news to highlight today. Like you mentioned, the pizza companies like Domino's Pizza and Papa Johns soaring here when it comes to sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Papa John's reporting today that same-store sales in North America surged 33.5% during the month of May. And that is up from 26.9% in April.

We heard from Papa John's CEO in the statement saying that May was the second straight month of record sales for the company. Looking at its international business sales, in May rose 7% from 1.4% growth in April. And of Papa John's 2,100 international franchised stores, roughly 320 are still temporary closed-- temporarily closed due to the pandemic.

But we're actually getting this news after Domino's yesterday said that it also saw same-store sales rising in May. The company said that US same-store sales rose 14% in the first two months of the second quarter and [? 20.9% ?] between April 20th and May 17th. Internationally, same-store sales increased 1% during the first two months of the quarter. Rich Allison, Domino's CEO, saying, quote, "we are seeing a tailwind as consumer behavior across the restaurant industry has shifted toward delivery and carry-out."

And you'll notice, Zack, that I didn't really mention Pizza Hut. That company had been struggling over the recent years. But we actually spoke yesterday to the interim US president, Kevin Hochman, and he told us to not count out Pizza Hut just yet. He said, quote, "we made tremendous progress over the last 10 weeks. Before you know it, Pizza Hut will be back."

So there you have it, delivery and carry-out really boosting these pizza franchises and stores. Really the bright spot right now in the restaurant industry, Zack.

ZACK GUZMAN: Hey, look at both those stocks. Papa John's and Domino's up about 25% for the year. Interesting to see if those companies will be able to keep up that growth as people return to work and maybe return to restaurants, as well. But appreciate the-- appreciate the update. Heidi Chung bringing us the latest on that front.