Papa John's
PZZA Nasdaq Restaurants Financials FY2016–FY2025
Papa John's revenue fell 0.3% to $2.1 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 4.3%, down from 7.6% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $61 million, up 79.5%. It paid out $61 million in dividends and buybacks, 100% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 0.4%.
About these figures. Papa John's had no current portion of long-term debt in 2021–23 (its debt was all due in later years), so that part counts as zero.
What Papa John's does
Papa John's operates and franchises pizza restaurants, mostly for delivery and carryout. At December 28, 2025, there were 6,083 Papa Johns restaurants in 50 countries and territories: 475 owned by the company and 5,608 run by franchisees. It says most of its sales occur through digital channels.
Papa John's has four reportable segments: Domestic Company-owned restaurants, North America franchising, North America commissaries and International. Company-owned restaurants earn money from retail sales of pizza and other food and drinks. Franchising earns royalties and fees from franchisees in the United States and Canada. Commissaries supply ingredients and other goods to restaurants. Of the North American restaurants, approximately 13% of restaurants were company-owned. The company-owned restaurants in its comparable base averaged $1.3 million in annual sales.
Papa John's says it competes with other quick-service restaurants, especially in pizza, for customers, workers, franchisees and restaurant sites. In December 2025 it began a new business transformation program, called the Enterprise Transformation Plan, after finishing a plan to reshape its international business.
- Legal name
- PAPA JOHN’S INTERNATIONAL, INC.
- Fiscal year ends
- December 28, 2025
- Latest annual report
- 10-K · Feb 26, 2026
- Accession · CIK
- 0001628280-26-011965
0000901491
Revenue and margins
Papa John's had $2.1B of revenue in fiscal 2025, down 0.3% on the year before.
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, diluted EPS grew −11.6% a year. Loss periods are shown in red.
Returns on capital
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Cash flow
Free cash flow was $61.3M in fiscal 2025, 3.0% of revenue. Cash from operations minus capital spending.
Dividends, buybacks and share count
Papa John's returned $61.1M to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 100% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 0.4%.
Value Papa John's yourself
Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets — the answer depends entirely on what you put in.
Discounted cash flow
Value per share
—
Adds net cash of −$729M and divides by 32.9M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.
Earnings multiple
Value per share
—
Reference multiples: today 22.9x · peers 57.6x · sector 17.7x.
Balance sheet
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Papa John's can carry it.
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $70.6M | $47.4M | $40.6M | $38.0M | $34.6M |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $502M | $623M | $791M | $772M | $763M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.0x | 3.6x | 3.6x | 3.3x | 4.0x |
| Interest coverage | 8.8x | 4.1x | 3.9x | 3.8x | 2.2x |
| Current ratio | 0.9x | 1.0x | 0.8x | 0.8x | 0.8x |
| Quick ratio | 0.8x | 0.8x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.7x |
| Total assets | $886M | $864M | $875M | $889M | $838M |
| Total liabilities | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.3B | $1.3B | $1.3B |
| Shareholders' equity | −$188M | −$286M | −$459M | −$430M | −$445M |
| Net debt (− = net cash) | $432M | $576M | $750M | $734M | $729M |
Insider trades
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. 'Plan' marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
Bought, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Of sales under plans
—
$0.0M
No open-market insider trades in the last 12 months.
Piotroski F-score
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Return on assets rose | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Debt fell relative to assets | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Current ratio rose | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Share count didn't rise | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| F-score | 6 / 8 | 7 / 8 | 4 / 8 |
| Accruals ratio | −12.8% | −2.6% | −11.1% |
| Altman Z'' | 1.04 | 1.39 | 0.76 |
Similar companies
Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don't line up exactly.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papa John's PZZA | $599M | −0.3% | 4.3% | 3.0% | 19.3% | 22.9x | 4 | |
| Dave & Buster's PLAY | $242M | −1.4% | 4.1% | −4.8% | 4.1% | — | 6 | Compare → |
| Wendy's WEN | $1.2B | −3.1% | 15.8% | 11.2% | 7.8% | 9.4x | 4 | Compare → |
| Dutch Bros BROS | $5.6B | 27.9% | 9.8% | 3.3% | 11.9% | 57.6x | 5 | Compare → |
| Shake Shack SHAK | $2.7B | 15.4% | 4.3% | 3.9% | 9.6% | 68.6x | 7 | Compare → |
10 years of figures
US$ millions unless stated. Hover a ratio's name for its definition.
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $1.7B | $1.8B | $1.7B | $1.6B | $1.8B | $2.1B | $2.1B | $2.1B | $2.1B | $2.1B |
| Operating income | $165M | $151M | $31.6M | $24.5M | $90.3M | $168M | $109M | $147M | $157M | $89.1M |
| Interest expense | $7.4M | $11.3M | $25.7M | $20.6M | $17.0M | $19.2M | $26.7M | $37.3M | $41.1M | $39.9M |
| Pretax income | $159M | $140M | $6.7M | $5.0M | $75.4M | $151M | $83.8M | $104M | $114M | $48.4M |
| Income tax | $49.7M | $33.8M | $2.6M | −$0.6M | $14.7M | $26.0M | $14.4M | $20.9M | $29.9M | $16.3M |
| Net income | $103M | $102M | $2.5M | $4.9M | $57.9M | $120M | $67.8M | $82.1M | $83.5M | $30.5M |
| Diluted EPS | $2.74 | $2.83 | $0.08 | −$0.24 | $1.28 | $0.12 | $1.89 | $2.48 | $2.54 | $0.90 |
| Diluted shares | 0.04B | 0.04B | 0.03B | 0.03B | 0.03B | 0.04B | 0.04B | 0.03B | 0.03B | 0.03B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $150M | $135M | $92.5M | $61.7M | $186M | $185M | $118M | $193M | $107M | $126M |
| Capital expenditure | $55.6M | $52.6M | $42.0M | $37.7M | $35.7M | $68.6M | $78.4M | $76.6M | $72.5M | $64.7M |
| Free cash flow | $94.7M | $82.4M | $50.4M | $24.0M | $151M | $116M | $39.4M | $116M | $34.2M | $61.3M |
| Depreciation and amortization | $41.0M | $43.7M | $46.4M | $47.3M | $49.7M | $48.8M | $52.0M | $64.1M | $69.4M | $92.2M |
| Stock-based compensation | $10.1M | $10.4M | $9.9M | $15.3M | $16.3M | $16.9M | $18.4M | $17.9M | $9.6M | $15.0M |
| Acquisitions | $13.4M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.7M | $1.2M | $5.6M | $0.1M | $0.0M |
| Share buybacks | $122M | $210M | $158M | $0.0M | $2.7M | $72.5M | $125M | $210M | $2.1M | $0.0M |
| Dividends paid | $27.9M | $30.7M | $29.0M | $28.6M | $29.4M | $40.4M | $54.8M | $58.5M | $60.6M | $61.1M |
| Dividends and buybacks | $150M | $240M | $187M | $28.6M | $32.1M | $113M | $180M | $269M | $62.6M | $61.1M |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $15.6M | $22.3M | $33.3M | $27.9M | $130M | $70.6M | $47.4M | $40.6M | $38.0M | $34.6M |
| Total debt | $300M | $467M | $621M | $367M | $348M | $481M | $597M | $757M | $742M | $722M |
| Finance lease liabilities | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $9.4M | $17.1M | $21.6M | $25.9M | $33.2M | $30.2M | $40.8M |
| Current assets | $146M | $170M | $196M | $182M | $306M | $255M | $251M | $231M | $231M | $237M |
| Current liabilities | $128M | $133M | $189M | $208M | $289M | $287M | $265M | $305M | $278M | $291M |
| Inventory | $25.1M | $30.6M | $27.2M | $27.5M | $30.3M | $35.0M | $41.4M | $36.1M | $35.2M | $34.3M |
| Property and equipment, net | $231M | $234M | $227M | $212M | $201M | $224M | $250M | $283M | $273M | $251M |
| Total assets | $513M | $556M | $596M | $731M | $873M | $886M | $864M | $875M | $889M | $838M |
| Total liabilities | $494M | $655M | $894M | $791M | $881M | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.3B | $1.3B | $1.3B |
| Shareholders' equity | −$3.9M | −$122M | −$319M | −$332M | −$282M | −$188M | −$286M | −$459M | −$430M | −$445M |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Operating margin | 9.6% | 8.5% | 1.9% | 1.5% | 5.0% | 8.1% | 5.2% | 6.9% | 7.6% | 4.3% |
| EBITDA margin | 12.0% | 10.9% | 4.7% | 4.4% | 7.7% | 10.5% | 7.7% | 9.9% | 11.0% | 8.8% |
| Net margin | 6.0% | 5.7% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 3.2% | 5.8% | 3.2% | 3.8% | 4.1% | 1.5% |
| FCF margin | 5.5% | 4.6% | 3.0% | 1.5% | 8.3% | 5.6% | 1.9% | 5.5% | 1.7% | 3.0% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | 39.6% | 36.3% | 6.2% | 15.5% | — | 122.5% | 32.0% | 38.5% | 36.9% | 19.3% |
| Return on capital employed | 44.1% | 37.4% | 7.6% | 5.3% | 16.3% | 28.5% | 18.2% | 25.2% | 26.5% | 15.4% |
| Return on assets | 20.4% | 19.2% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 7.2% | 13.7% | 7.8% | 9.4% | 9.5% | 3.5% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | 4.7% | 4.1% | −6.8% | −2.6% | 12.0% | 14.1% | 1.6% | 1.6% | −3.6% | −0.3% |
| Net income growth | 35.9% | −0.5% | −97.6% | 96.7% | 1,090.6% | 107.2% | −43.5% | 21.1% | 1.7% | −63.4% |
| EPS growth | 45.0% | 3.3% | −97.2% | −400.0% | — | −90.6% | 1,475.0% | 31.2% | 2.4% | −64.6% |
| FCF growth | −28.0% | −13.0% | −38.8% | −52.3% | 527.3% | −23.0% | −66.1% | 195.4% | −70.7% | 79.5% |
| Share count change | −6.0% | −2.9% | −11.6% | −2.1% | 3.4% | 8.0% | 1.1% | −7.2% | −1.0% | 0.4% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.4x | 2.3x | 7.5x | 4.9x | 1.7x | 2.0x | 3.6x | 3.6x | 3.3x | 4.0x |
| Interest coverage | 22.2x | 13.4x | 1.2x | 1.2x | 5.3x | 8.8x | 4.1x | 3.9x | 3.8x | 2.2x |
| Current ratio | 1.1x | 1.3x | 1.0x | 0.9x | 1.1x | 0.9x | 1.0x | 0.8x | 0.8x | 0.8x |
| Quick ratio | 0.9x | 1.1x | 0.9x | 0.7x | 1.0x | 0.8x | 0.8x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.7x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 3.2% | 3.0% | 2.5% | 2.3% | 2.0% | 3.3% | 3.7% | 3.6% | 3.5% | 3.2% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.7% |
| Payouts / FCF | 158.7% | 291.7% | 370.9% | 118.8% | 21.3% | 97.2% | 456.1% | 230.9% | 183.4% | 99.7% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Piotroski F-score | 6.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 4.0 |
| Altman Z'' | 3.8 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 |
| Accruals ratio | −9.4% | −6.1% | −15.6% | −8.6% | −16.0% | −7.4% | −5.7% | −12.8% | −2.6% | −11.1% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000901491). Data updated October 11, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.