Papa John's International (PZZA) Earnings: Q3 Fiscal 2026 Results

The quarter ended September 27, 2026 and Papa John's International published the results on November 5, 2026. Revenue and diluted EPS are shown against Q3 fiscal 2025, the same quarter a year earlier, which takes seasonal swings out of the comparison. Papa John's International reports EPS two ways: GAAP, under the accounting rules every US filer follows, and adjusted diluted EPS, which leaves out items the company considers outside its operating results. The release reconciles the two, and when they diverge, the reconciliation says why.

• Papa Johns refranchised 113 Domestic Company-owned restaurants after Q3 fiscal 2025, which lowered Company-owned restaurant sales by about $26 million against the year-ago quarter. Comparable sales figures exclude the effect of those transactions.
• Papa Johns uses a 52/53-week fiscal year; Q3 fiscal 2026 ended September 27, 2026. Net income shown is attributable to common shareholders.

Source: Papa Johns Q3 2026 results, November 5, 2026. Also in the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 27, 2026. Figures as reported; checked against the release on November 10, 2026.

How Papa John's International splits revenue in its own release, under its own labels, for Q3 fiscal 2026 against Q3 fiscal 2025. Indented lines are parts of the line above them.

• Papa John's International's Company-owned restaurant sales revenue was $131 million in Q3 fiscal 2026, down 22% from $168 million in Q3 fiscal 2025, 29% of total revenue.
• Papa John's International's Franchise royalties and fees revenue was $43.1 million in Q3 fiscal 2026, down 8% from $47.1 million in Q3 fiscal 2025, 9% of total revenue.
• Papa John's International's Commissary revenues revenue was $223 million in Q3 fiscal 2026, down 3% from $230 million in Q3 fiscal 2025, 49% of total revenue.
• Papa John's International's Other revenues revenue was $21.3 million in Q3 fiscal 2026, flat on $21.4 million in Q3 fiscal 2025, 5% of total revenue.
• Papa John's International's Advertising funds revenue revenue was $36.7 million in Q3 fiscal 2026, down 12% from $41.7 million in Q3 fiscal 2025, 8% of total revenue.

Segment lines are the figures writers cite most often, because they show where the growth in a quarter came from. Companies redraw their segments from time to time and restate the prior year to match, so a year-ago figure here can differ from the one printed a year ago. When that has happened, the note above says so.

From the earnings release

The release gives the outlook as a table of prior and current ranges. Current: global system-wide restaurant sales down about 5%, North America comparable sales down about 8%, International comparable sales flat to up 1%, adjusted EBITDA of approximately $175 million, and about 33 million diluted shares.

In its Q3 fiscal 2026 release, Papa John's International said:

“The Company is updating its 2026 annual guidance to include the following metrics:”

Source: Papa Johns Q3 2026 release, Nov 5, 2026.

This is the company's own guidance as of Nov 5, 2026, quoted as given. Walnut does not make forecasts of its own. Analyst estimates for the coming quarters are on the PZZA forecast page.

Revenue and diluted EPS for the last 5 quarters. Each date links to that quarter's release.

Total revenues and GAAP diluted EPS, each as first reported in that quarter's release. Papa Johns reports in thousands; revenue is shown in millions.

We do not hold a confirmed date for Papa John's International's next report. Companies post the date on their investor relations site a few weeks ahead, usually with the time of the conference call.

Each quarter keeps its own page with the figures as reported, so a link to one stays pointed at the same numbers after the next report.

• Q3 fiscal 2026 (this page), reported Nov 5, 2026

Papa John's International makes most of its revenue from supplying restaurants, not from selling pizza. In Q3 fiscal 2026 commissary revenues were $222.5 million of the $454.8 million total, Company-owned restaurant sales $131.3 million, franchise royalties and fees $43.1 million, advertising funds revenue $36.7 million and other revenues $21.3 million. Sales at franchised restaurants are not included in revenue. (Papa Johns Q3 2026 release, Nov 5, 2026)

The commissary business runs regional Quality Control Centers in the United States that supply dough, sauce, food, paper products and cleaning supplies to each traditional restaurant twice a week, plus one center in Canada that makes fresh dough. (Papa Johns Form 10-K, fiscal 2025, Feb 26, 2026)

Total revenues fell 10.5%. Papa Johns said Domestic Company-owned restaurant revenue fell $37 million, about $26 million of it because 113 restaurants were refranchised after Q3 fiscal 2025 and the rest from 7.5% lower comparable sales. North America commissary revenues fell $15 million on lower volumes, partly offset by higher pricing, and North America franchising revenues fell $5 million. International revenues were flat. (Papa Johns Q3 2026 release, Nov 5, 2026)

Global system-wide restaurant sales, which include franchised restaurants, were $1.15 billion, down 5.6% excluding currency. North America system-wide sales fell 8.8% to $802.3 million and International rose 2.8% to $343.7 million. Papa Johns had 5,969 restaurants in 51 countries and territories at September 27, 2026, after 47 openings and 56 closings in the quarter. (Papa Johns Q3 2026 release, Nov 5, 2026)

Papa John's International reported GAAP diluted EPS of $0.09, against $0.13, and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.16, against $0.32. Adjusted results exclude restructuring costs for the Enterprise Transformation Plan ($0.04 a share), other costs ($0.04), Technology Transformation costs ($0.06) and a $1.6 million net refranchising gain ($0.05), net of tax effects. (Papa Johns Q3 2026 release, Nov 5, 2026)

Net income attributable to common shareholders was $3.1 million, against $4.4 million. Papa Johns said lower sales were partly offset by lower cost of sales and lower depreciation and amortization, which fell to $19.2 million from $24.9 million as accelerated depreciation on technology assets declined. (Papa Johns Q3 2026 release, Nov 5, 2026)

Diluted weighted average shares were 33,129 thousand, against 33,043 thousand, so share count had almost no effect on the change in EPS. Net interest expense was $9.4 million. (Papa Johns Q3 2026 release, Nov 5, 2026)

Diluted EPS divides net income by the weighted average number of shares outstanding in the quarter, plus the shares that options and other equity awards could add. Buybacks shrink that count and lift EPS for the same profit; share issuance and stock awards enlarge it.

Papa John's International gives an annual outlook in its release and cut it with Q3 results. It now expects global system-wide restaurant sales down about 5% (prior: down 2% to 4%), North America comparable sales down about 8% (prior: down 6% to 8%), International comparable sales flat to up 1% (prior: up 1% to 3%) and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $175 million (prior: $180 million to $190 million). (Papa Johns Q3 2026 release, Nov 5, 2026)

Unchanged items: 40 to 50 North America gross openings, 180 to 220 International gross openings, capital expenditures of $70 million to $80 million, a GAAP effective tax rate of 30% to 34% and about 33 million diluted shares. (Papa Johns Q3 2026 release, Nov 5, 2026)

A consensus figure is the average of the models published by the analysts who cover Papa John's International, collected by a data provider and revised up to the day of the report. A quarter that lands above it says how expectations were set as much as how the business did, and the share price on the day also reflects the guidance and the lines no consensus covers.

The consensus figures on this page are Yahoo Finance's, as pulled on the date shown. Each comes with the number of analysts behind it; the smaller that number, the more one revised estimate can move the average.

The figures below are the ones Papa John's International's own release and filings put weight on for Q3 fiscal 2026, with the latest reported value for each.

What the quarter means for a holding is a separate question from what it reported. The case for and against owning PZZA is on is PZZA a buy or a sell?, what analysts expect next is on the PZZA forecast, and what the company does is on the Papa John's International (PZZA) stock page.

Every number on this page can be traced to a document Papa John's International published. Checking one takes a couple of minutes, and it is worth doing before you quote a figure anywhere.

• The results release is the document linked in the source line above. Companies publish it on their investor relations site at the moment results go out, and it carries the headline tables: revenue, operating income, net income and EPS for the quarter and the year-ago quarter.
• The same release is filed with the SEC as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K under Item 2.02, usually on the day of the report. The SEC copy does not change after the fact, which makes it the safer thing to link when you cite a number.
• The quarterly report (Form 10-Q) follows within a few weeks and carries the full financial statements, the segment note and management's discussion of what changed. The fourth quarter is covered by the annual report (Form 10-K) instead.
• Restated comparisons are flagged in the notes on this page. When a company redraws its segments or changes how it adjusts EPS, it restates the year-ago column, so the year-ago figure in a new release can differ from the one printed a year ago. This page always uses the comparison in the newer release, because that is the like-for-like one.

A walk-through of every line in a release, with what each one tells you, is in how to read an earnings report.