Papa John's Stock Climbs After Q1 Revenue Beat Amid Challenging Times For Restaurants: Retail Mood Neutral

Shares jumped 16% on Thursday following the results, leading to a third consecutive week of gains for the stock.

Papa John's International (PZZA) last week reported first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates.

Shares jumped 16% on Thursday following the results, leading to a third consecutive week of gains for the stock.

At a time when most restaurant chains are seeing weak consumer spending, Papa John's quarterly report cheered investors and signaled that its growth initiatives were yielding results.

Over the past year, the pizza chain has revamped its menu and marketing strategy and pushed to grow its online sales and rewards program to win customers in an increasingly competitive market.

"The strategic investments we've made to improve our value proposition, drive traffic in our restaurants and enhance our customer experience are driving momentum in the business," CEO Todd Penegor said.

Papa John's reported revenue of $518.3 million, higher than the analysts' estimate of $514.1 million from FactSet.

Adjusted profit was $0.36 per share, which is in line with estimates.

Papa John's maintained its outlook for North America and international comparable sales to be flat to up 2%. On the analyst call, management said it “remains cautious” about the macroeconomic environment, without giving details.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was 'neutral,' unchanged from the previous week.

Users largely posted favorably about the company, with one calling it a "stud."

Papa John's stock is down 7% year to date.

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