Warren Buffett’sBerkshire Hathaway owns almost 10% of Domino’s Pizza, a stake price roughly $1.34 billion. In actual fact, Berkshire raised its stake within the pizza firm by 12% in This fall of 2025.
When probably the most carefully watched buyers on this planet has that form of pores and skin within the recreation, a quarterly earnings report tends to attract a crowd.
Valued at a market cap of $13.4 billion, Domino’s (DPZ) inventory surged 4.1% on Feb. 23. The catalyst? A sturdy fourth-quarter earnings report and a dividend hike that few earnings buyers would need to miss.
Domino’s raises its quarterly dividend
Domino’s bumped its quarterly dividend by 15%, bringing the brand new payout to $1.99 per share. The document date is March 13, with fee set for March 30.
Domino’s continues to develop its dividend
Picture supply: Shutterstock
That is not a small transfer for a shopper model working in what most individuals would name a “boring” enterprise.
However Domino’s has quietly turn out to be one of many steadiest dividend-growth tales within the restaurant sector.
For example, its quarterly dividend was a lot decrease at $0.20 per share in 2013.
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Analysts monitoring the Warren Buffett inventory count on free money stream to extend to $810 million in 2030 from $673 million in 2026.
Given an annualized payout of $7.96 per share, the dividend expense is roughly $269 million, indicating a payout ratio of lower than 50%.
A snapshot of key dividend metrics for DPZ inventory:
- Quarterly dividend: $1.99 per share (up from prior payout)
- Annualized dividend: $7.96 per share
- Dividend yield: Roughly 2.0%
- Dividend progress: 15% enhance introduced Feb. 23, 2026
- 10-year dividend progress (CAGR): 18.1%
- Report date: March 13, 2026
- Cost date: March 30, 2026
For income-focused buyers, the mixture of a rising dividend and Berkshire’s massive place provides DPZ added credibility as a long-term maintain.
Domino’s This fall outcomes beat expectations
The numbers behind the dividend hike inform their very own story.
- Domino’s posted a 4.9% leap in fourth-quarter income to $6.3 billion, in line with an organization assertion.
- U.S. same-store gross sales rose 3.7%, topping the three.47% consensus estimate.
That beat got here even because the broader restaurant business has struggled with cautious shoppers watching their spending.
How did Domino’s pull it off? Two issues drove the quarter.
- First, the $9.99 “Best Deal Ever” promotion drew in value-seeking prospects with out gutting margins.
- Second, the Parmesan-stuffed-crust pizza attracted new prospects and raised common ticket costs.
CEO Russell Weiner said:
For the complete yr 2025, U.S. same-store gross sales grew 3%. The carryout enterprise, which now stands at roughly $4.4 billion yearly, grew by 5.6%. That is bigger than the entire income of two of Domino’s nationwide pizza rivals.
Working earnings grew 8.1% for the yr. Common franchisee profitability climbed to roughly $166,000 per retailer, up $4,000 from the prior yr.
These are the sorts of numbers that appeal to long-term institutional buyers and maintain Berkshire holding.
What DPZ inventory buyers ought to watch subsequent
Not the whole lot within the report was spotless.
Worldwide same-store gross sales rose solely 0.7% within the fourth quarter. Outcomes from Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (DPE), the corporate’s grasp franchisee for Australia and a number of other different markets, dragged on the general worldwide quantity.
Excluding DPE, worldwide efficiency was monitoring way more carefully with the corporate’s long-term targets.
The corporate not too long ago employed a brand new CEO for DPE and described getting that enterprise again on observe as a prime precedence.
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The important thing variable going ahead is DoorDash. Domino’s wasn’t totally rolled out on the platform till mid-2025, which means the full-year profit did not present up within the numbers but. Administration expects that to vary in 2026.
Rising insurance coverage and labor prices additionally squeezed margins at company-owned shops. Nonetheless, Chief Monetary Officer Sandeep Reddy famous that franchisee economics, a far bigger piece of the enterprise, held up properly.
CEO Russell Weiner framed Domino’s long-term alternative in stark phrases on the earnings name. The No. 1 pizza chain on this planet at the moment holds about 23% of the U.S. pizza market.
Different class leaders in quick-service eating places sometimes command 40% to 50%. Weiner’s said aim: double U.S. retail gross sales from roughly $10 billion over time.
For 2026, the corporate is guiding for 3% U.S. same-store gross sales progress, 175-plus internet new home shops, and working earnings progress of roughly 8%.
Pricing is predicted to stay flat to low single digits—a deliberate alternative to guard quantity and franchisee income slightly than chase short-term margin good points by means of worth will increase.
With Buffett’s Berkshire nonetheless firmly within the nook sales space, the funding case for DPZ seems intact.
Wall Road stays bullish and expects DPZ inventory to surge 16% from present ranges, given consensus worth targets.
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