Domino's (DPZ) Opens Store in Lithuania, Expands Presence

Domino's Pizza, Inc. DPZ recently announced the opening of the first Domino's store in Lithuania. The move is in sync with its strategy to expand its presence globally. Residents of Vilnius can now get Pizza delivered to their door by master franchisee, Morgacita Limited.

The company also announced that it will soon open its second location in Vilnius on Ateities Street with additional locations planned in the future. The company is planning to generate more than 400 jobs in the region in the next three years.

Domino's now has stores in more than 90 markets worldwide. The company generates more than half of its global retail sales from the international markets. Joe Jordan, Domino's executive vice president of international said, “We love Domino's customers all over the world and are excited to now be able to serve those in Vilnius. We look forward to developing a loyal customer following and bringing even more Domino's locations to Lithuania in the future.”

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Expansion to Drive Growth

Domino’s growth continues to be strong and diversified across markets, courtesy of exceptional unit level economics. The company inaugurated 238 (35 net U.S. stores and 203 net new international stores) global net store openings in second-quarter fiscal 2021.

Store expansion is driving the company’s comps. Second-quarter fiscal 2021 marked the 110th consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales in its international business. Improvement in comps can be attributed to ticket growth. This was driven by the return of non-delivery service methods, resumption of normal store hours and reopening of international stores (that were closed in the prior-year quarter).

Several international franchisees continue generating robust returns. Countries like the U.K., Germany, Mexico and Turkey posted robust growth in second-quarter 2021. The company reported solid retail sales growth in China, supported by its franchise partner Dash Brands. During the quarter, the company reported milestone openings of 400th and 800th store in China and Japan, respectively.

Backed by an expanding global brand presence, shares of Domino’s have surged 28.9% in the past year compared with the industry’s rally of 23.5%.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Currently, Domino's carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Some top-ranked stocks in the same industry include The Wendy's Company WEN, Jack in the Box Inc. JACK and Papa John's International, Inc. PZZA, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Wendy's has a three-five-year earnings per share growth rate of 9%.

Jack in the Box has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.4%, on average.

Papa John's earnings for 2021 are expected to rise 122.9%.

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