Why Domino’s Sees Order Counts as its Primary Growth Engine

Order counts.

The pizza giant delivered a second quarter that looked mixed on paper. U.S.

same-store sales rose just 0.1 percent, weighed down by a lower average ticket after a premium menu campaign failed to resonate with customers. But Domino’s believes the underlying health of the business is considerably stronger than that figure suggests.

Order count growth

Throughout what marked Russell Weiner’s final earnings call as CEO, he repeatedly returned to one message, which is that Domino’s is winning more customers, taking market share, and building a larger customer base that should fuel future sales, unit growth, and franchise profitability.

“The winners in QSR over time are the brands that can grow order counts while driving healthy ticket through disciplined pricing,” Weiner said during the chain’s Q2 earnings call. “That has been Domino’s formula for success.”

Weiner spent much of the call arguing that transaction growth tells a more meaningful story than same-store sales because it ultimately drives franchise profitability, unit development, and market share. Since he joined Domino’s in late 2008, the company has more than doubled the number of U.S. orders flowing through its system. Those transactions helped generate approximately $7 billion in additional retail sales, more than 2,100 net new restaurants, and nearly a 240 percent increase in franchise store-level EBITDA.

Weiner noted the quick-service industry experienced essentially flat order counts during the second quarter as consumers continued to navigate macroeconomic uncertainty. Domino’s, however, recorded meaningful transaction growth across delivery and carryout. Although the company declined to disclose specific figures, Weiner said millions of additional customers chose Domino’s during the period.

“In the race for long-term dominance, our increase in order count during both the first and second quarters of this year highlights that more people are ordering Domino’s than ever before,” Weiner said.

Weiner said those additional orders create value long after the initial purchase. Every new customer entering Domino’s loyalty ecosystem presents another opportunity to increase frequency, strengthen customer relationships, and support the supply chain business that serves franchisees. He described those new users as the foundation for future growth instead of simply another quarterly sales figure.

Third party delivery

A significant contributor has been Domino’s expansion onto third-party delivery marketplaces.

After years of avoiding aggregators, Domino’s now says it has become the largest pizza brand on Uber and DoorDash. Weiner said the company still has room to expand.

Despite the strong transaction performance, Domino’s acknowledged the quarter did not unfold as planned.

The company’s biggest disappointment came from ticket growth.

A year ago, Domino’s benefited from the launch of Parmesan Stuffed Crust Pizza, which carried a higher average check and favorable product mix. This year, management introduced its Premium Series featuring Slice Sauce to replace that promotion. Weiner said the campaign failed to connect with customers.

“I don’t believe this miss was due to macroeconomic headwinds,” Weiner said. “The miss on ticket was largely within our control.”

Weiner pointed to marketing execution as the primary issue. The food itself wasn’t the problem. Customer messaging simply wasn’t compelling enough to generate the expected response. The result was a weaker average ticket that offset the company’s order gains and held same-store sales below expectations.

Weiner said the company believes the issue is temporary.

To begin the third quarter, Domino’s added Parmesan Stuffed Crust to its Best Deal Ever promotion after seeing encouraging customer feedback. Weiner also said the company has already restored its marketing creative to the standard it expects and anticipates much easier comparisons as the anniversary of the Stuffed Crust launch moves into the rearview.

New product launch

The company also has another catalyst on the horizon.

Later in the third quarter, Domino’s plans to launch what Weiner described as one of its most significant pizza innovations in years. He disclosed few details but repeatedly suggested the product fills an unmet consumer need that extends outside traditional pizza occasions.

Similar to the role Stuffed Crust played by filling a menu gap, Weiner said the new product can bring customers into Domino’s who otherwise would have ordered something different.

“This signature product will give customers a delicious new reason to come to Domino’s,” Weiner said. “It’s one of the best tasting products we have ever tested.”

Weiner declined to reveal specifics but said the company identified an eating occasion pizza has historically failed to capture. If successful, the product could create incremental visits without cannibalizing Domino’s traditional dinner business.

For fiscal 2026, the company continues to expect low-single-digit U.S. same-store sales growth, low-single-digit international same-store sales growth, approximately 800 international net store openings, mid-single-digit global retail sales growth, and mid- to high-single-digit operating income growth.

The only notable adjustment involved domestic development.

Domino’s now expects roughly 175 net new U.S. restaurants this year, a slight reduction from its previous outlook of more than 175 stores. CFO Sandeep Reddy attributed the change to temporary pressure on franchisee profitability stemming from the weaker ticket performance and a more cautious development pipeline. The CFO expects pressures to ease once marketing execution improves and ticket growth returns.

Weiner also defended the company’s long-term unit development strategy after analysts asked whether Domino’s should reconsider its domestic footprint.

His answer was straightforward.

More orders create more profitable restaurants, and more profitable restaurants justify more development.

Weiner said Domino’s has closed very few U.S. stores during the past several years and sees little need to redraw trade areas or consolidate locations. Instead, he said the company’s future growth will come from continuing to increase transactions, expand carryout penetration, and convert those gains into new restaurant openings.

The company estimates it controls roughly 23 percent of the U.S. pizza category, well below the market share enjoyed by category leaders in burgers and sandwiches that have 40 to 50 percent share. Weiner said that gap shows there is still substantial room to gain share.

“The only difference is our brand has never been stronger and our competition has never been weaker,” Weiner said.