---
title: "Fox Business: Here's Why Papa John's International, Inc. Shares Fell 11% in February"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/247b30e2-39ad-4113-a2c8-734b539f9cb3
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/fox-business-heres-why-papa-johns-international-inc-shares-fell-11-in-february-2705872
category: "Pizza"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Pizza"
topics: ["Finance & M&A"]
published: 2018-03-09T20:15:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:09:38.631Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/15f117e07e4fab970103b31c2c30a7a14668.jpg
---

# Fox Business: Here's Why Papa John's International, Inc. Shares Fell 11% in February

**TL;DR:** Papa John's International, Inc. shares fell 11% in February due to controversy surrounding former CEO John Schnatter's comment about NFL players' national anthem protests. New CEO Steve Ritchie stated that the brand is taking steps to reinvigorate profitable growth and value creation.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-03-09. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/fox-business-heres-why-papa-johns-international-inc-shares-fell-11-in-february-2705872).*

## Story

Former Papa John's CEO John Schnatter made a comment about the National Football League (NFL) players' national anthem protests back in December and fans of the pizza franchise were not happy. A recent Fox Business article reported that the brand's shares fell from $64.89 in January to $57.74 last month.

"We know our potential is so much greater than our results, and we are taking significant steps to reinvigorate our record of profitable growth and value creation," said new CEO Steve Ritchie in the Q4 earnings release. "Actions are underway to improve our brand proposition, how we connect with customers, and how we operate at the unit level."

Due to the polarizing effect social issues have, especially nowadays, it more important than ever for brands to be mindful of how they position themselves to the consumer.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Papa Johns (company)
- NFL (company)
- Fox Business (company)
- brand reputation (topic)
- stock performance (topic)
- nfl controversy (topic)
- ceo statement (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/fox-business-heres-why-papa-johns-international-inc-shares-fell-11-in-february-2705872). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/247b30e2-39ad-4113-a2c8-734b539f9cb3).