Domino’s Q4 same-store sales up, but at a slower pace

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Domino’s Pizza notched its 31st consecutive quarter of U.S. same-store sales growth, but at a slower pace than investors hoped.

Ann Arbor-based Domino’s said sales at established U.S. stores grew 5.6 percent compared with the October-December period in 2017. Wall Street was forecasting growth of 6.8 percent, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Same-store sales growth at international stores slowed slightly to 2.4 percent. Domino’s closed 2018 with 15,914 stores worldwide.

Domino’s also fell short of profit and revenue targets. Net income rose 20 percent to $112 million in the fourth quarter. Domino’s said gains from a lower tax rate were partially offset by investments in technology.

The earnings, of $2.62 per share, fell short of analysts’ forecast of $2.69.

Fourth-quarter revenue rose 21 percent to $1.08 billion, just shy of forecasts.