A：Q1 represented another quarter of positive order count and market share growth for Domino's in the US. However, the same store sales for the rest of the quarter did not meet expectations, resulting in a decline.

A：The challenges in Q1 were attributed to growing consumer uncertainty, low consumer sentiment, ongoing inflation impacting purchase decisions, and unfavorable weather conditions, such as the timing of the carryout special boost week.

A：The competitive landscape intensified in Q1 with national pizza players offering deals comparable to Domino's value offerings, creating short-term pressure. However, Domino's believes in the long-term value of its model and its ability to outcompete through advertising budget and value proposition, leading to pressure on competitors' franchisee economics.

A：Key achievements in Q1 included the full launch of the new app with improvements to the pizza tracker, increasing personalization, and more precise ready times, as well as progress in the back of house with the Don OS orchestration agent that enhances production efficiency.

A：The CEO remains optimistic due to his view on the QSR pizza category growth and his confidence in outperforming competitors, capturing meaningful market share in 2026 and beyond. This belief is unchanged and is supported by the company's track record of delivering on its strategies.

A：The company is working hard to make adjustments to drive a bigger impact in the current macro environment, focusing on product innovation, particularly around pizza, which is beyond their original plans and has the potential to elevate the brand.

A：Domino's achieved market share growth by driving more sales, opening more stores, and increasing profits per sale. This was evidenced by same store sales growth, net store openings, and a substantial increase in profits for franchisees.

A：The company's strategy for future growth involves continuing to deliver on operational excellence and making adjustments to marketing plans to fit the current macro environment. For 2026, the company expects US same store sales to be low single digits, international same store sales growth to be low single digits, and net stores to grow in the specified figures. The company anticipates global retail sales growth to be mid single digits, with operating income growth expected to be mid to high single digits, excluding certain impacts.

A：The company's objective for the year is to achieve a 3% same store sales growth in the US.

A：The company's strategy in response to market changes and competitive pressures is to adapt to the environment by focusing on pizza innovation, changing its plans and adjusting its focus on value, and leveraging its strong carryout business and the growth potential in the delivery category.

A：The company expects to open 170 stores, which is an increase from the 172 stores it had last year.

A：The company views its competitive position as being successful due to its strategy, promotions, and store closures. They believe their competitors are struggling to maintain profitability and may not be able to sustain their promotional activities or compete on price, leading to potential damage to their business and lighter franchise profits in the future.

A：The company expects to gain share in the pizza category, driven by promotions and the strategy of taking share from competitors, continuing the trend of the past few years. However, there is concern that category growth might not sustain the same pace, especially when considering the shift to delivery-focused strategies and the increased competition from aggregators.

A：The company assesses its position as having a 33% share in the delivery business and 20% share in the carryout business. They see significant runway for growth in the carryout business, which represents half of all QSR pizza sales and offers substantial opportunity for expansion and achieving their sales growth objectives.

A：Factors that contributed to the company's performance in the first quarter include the QSR pizza category's growth, the company's ability to gain share despite macro and competitive pressures, and the long-term impact of competitive activity being mitigated over time. In the short term, the competitive activity had a negative impact, but the company believes they will continue to gain share in the long term.

A：The company is exploring innovation in areas beyond pizza, including premium chicken and sandwiches, as indicated by their operating platform which permits these food items. The company's strategy includes responding to macro trends and negative externalities by potentially extending its pizza innovations into these non-pizza categories.

A：The company's approach involves a multi-year innovation strategy and funnel to identify and respond to macro trends and negative externalities, such as the ones currently seen in the market. This may involve adjusting or accelerating certain innovations like in pizza, which are designed to be both impactful and sustainable.

A：The company's non-pizza portfolio is quite significant, accounting for 40 plus percent of total sales. The company has had a long history of offering sandwiches and various chicken products, and is globally testing a new product, which shows the importance of diversification in the product portfolio.

A：The company's sales shortfall for the quarter was attributed to competitive pressure, particularly in the pizza category, as well as broader QSR industry pressures. This was especially pronounced for lower-income customers who are increasingly looking for value. The company's point of sale data showed a 2.8% decrease in retail sales.

A：The company expects to benefit from competitors closing stores, as these closures tend to improve their market share due to natural attrition. The company has historically experienced an increase in market share over time following competitors' store closures, which they believe is a result of effective strategy and continued franchisee profitability.

A：The company views value as a core part of its strategy and believes that it has a competitive advantage in driving value while still generating profits for franchisees. In the short term, the company may maintain customer loyalty but in the long term, the company believes that it is better positioned to sustainably compete and grow profits.

A：Rising gas prices impact consumer disposable income, which in turn affects both consumer confidence and what customers can afford. The company anticipates that this will continue to drive changes in consumer behavior and eating habits, potentially impacting the demand for delivery and carryout services, and the supply of delivery drivers.

A：The company expects that high gas prices will not significantly impact commodity costs or their guidance for the future. The focus remains on businesses that can maintain profitable growth despite the higher costs, and the company does not anticipate any major changes in guidance related to commodity costs.

A：The narrowing performance between delivery and carryout business was influenced by both macro pressures, such as increased competition and weather impacts, as well as carryout growth being slightly less than anticipated. However, the company's share growth on carryout remained positive, and they are optimistic about future improvements due to ongoing initiatives.

A：The international business is still expecting low single-digit potential sales growth. The company mentions that excluding DPE (Donald's Pizza Enterprises), the international business would have met expectations. They also state that they are closely working with the DPE team to turn around the business and are monitoring the performance carefully.

A：So far, the international business has not seen an impact from the war in the countries where they operate, according to the information provided.

A：Competitive activity had a short-term and transitory impact on the company's performance in the quarter, but it's not expected to affect the long-term outlook, which is supported by the company's consistent performance across all income cohorts and the plans to be implemented for the remainder of the year.

A：The company believes it is best to continue with share repurchases because they are confident in their ability to manage capital in a way that aligns with shareholder value. This includes keeping an eye on interest rates and market volatility while returning capital to shareholders. They have a history of raising dividends and view share repurchases as a vehicle that delivers value to shareholders.

A：The company does not believe there is a need to change the long-term growth expectations for the international market despite DPE (Donald's Pizza Enterprises) having been a drag for about three years. They are focused on helping DPE untap its potential and believe in the long-term prospects of the market.

A：The company believes the long-term potential of the markets they operate in is substantial, and they are not considering lowering long-term guidance despite challenges. They intend to help their international markets unlock their potential and are exploring options like changing the portfolio structure and leveraging contractual powers to drive change.

A：The company expects the promotional intensity to be high as there are looming store closures, but the sustainability of these promotions is not expected to be beneficial for franchisee profitability or the competition in the long run. It is suggested that either the stores will close or the promotions will cease due to financial unviability.

A：The company is managing the channel shifts by expecting growth in both the delivery and carryout businesses. They anticipate a balance between ticket and auto count growth in the US business. Although the timing of when sales would occur shifted slightly based on the start of the first quarter, the assumptions regarding the channel shifts and overall business mix have not changed significantly.

A：The company recognizes that there is always room for improvement in all aspects of the business, including the advertising area. The plan for the rest of the year includes continuing to develop great stories that align with the renowned value of the company and introduce new products. The emphasis will be on crafting compelling stories rather than solely focusing on spending the most amount of money on advertising.

A：For the supply chain business, there is an expectation of a positive margin outlook for the remainder of the year, as discussed in February. Regarding company-owned stores, the focus has shifted slightly from profit and margin discussions to other key performance indicators as the portfolio of company stores becomes less material to the overall profitability of the company. The company is dealing with pressures such as labor and food costs but remains confident that operating margins will continue to expand this year at the company level.

A：The performance of the supply chain business has been very strong in navigating cost pressures, with significant procurement productivity demonstrated by the team. There has been profit growth showing on the margins, which is a result of driving gross profit dollar growth on the back of volume being continuously achieved and expected to continue.

A：In the quarter, the company-owned store margins were impacted by pressures from labor, the food cost basket, and insurance. However, the company believes these are not material to the overall company performance and that operating margins will continue to expand. The company is managing investments and believes that the performance of franchisees, which is reflected in the profit for franchisees and remains strong, will continue to contribute positively to the company's results.

A：The company is increasing its confidence in taking share, especially given the intensification of competition noted by Russell. However, the company believes that its peers in the QSR segment, who are increasingly aggressive on value, could pose a potential risk to the traditional Ed to Ed pizza category growth. Nevertheless, the company remains optimistic, as it and its competitors are providing customers with value, and anticipates that the value environment will continue as the company and its franchisees have the resources to sustain this approach.