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Shares of the company rose about 5% in premarket trade.
The pizza chain’s better-than-expected sales follows similar reports from McDonald’s Corp (NYSE:MCD) and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG), which have been bumping up menu prices to protect their margins from a jump in costs of raw materials and labor.
In a bid to attract inflation-weary consumers, the pizza chain relaunched $3 Carryout Tips promo, where customers who place a carry-out order of $5 or more earn a $3 promo that can be used for another carry-out order.
Analysts have said the company’s new menu item “Loaded Tots” that serves oven-baked potato tots with cheese and toppings in three varieties has helped boost sales during the January-March period.
The world’s largest pizza chain’s U.S. same-store sales rose 3.6% in the first quarter, compared with analysts’ estimate of a 1.96% increase, according to Refinitiv data.
However, total revenue rose 1.3% to $1.02 billion but missed analysts’ estimate of $1.04 billion hurt by a strong dollar.
Major companies such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), which have sprawling global operations and convert foreign currencies into dollars, have flagged foreign currency headwinds.
Net income of the company rose to $104 million, or $2.93 per share, in the first quarter, from $91 million, or $2.50 per share, a year earlier.
