Even After a Rare Miss, Domino’s Just Proved It’s One of the Most Bulletproof Stocks on the Market

Look, no one’s surprised when Exxon or BP turns in a rough quarter these days. Oil prices have been on a never ending slide, and with demand slowing, Big Oil’s earnings have all the excitement of Major League Baseball.

But when Domino’s Pizza (the most consistent business on planet earth) posts a surprise drop in U.S. same-store sales… it might be time to start building underground bunkers (like what Zuck has in Hawaii). For the first quarter of 2025, Domino’s U.S. same-store sales fell 0.5%. Not the end of the world, right? Except analysts were banking on a 0.5% gain. Instead, Domino’s basically looked us dead in the eyes and said, “Yeah, we’re gonna go ahead and do the opposite.”

Even worse, pizza’s supposed to be recession-proof. Seriously. People might cut back on vacations, Starbucks lattes, and non-essential surgeries, but historically, greasy slices of cheese are the last thing the human race will give up. Yet here we are… these really are scary times.

What went wrong? Like everything else, blame it on inflation, recession fears, and the market sentiment that everyone’s running out of cash. Domino’s tried to fight back… they launched parmesan-stuffed crust, rolled out a "boost week" with 50% off online orders, and even teamed up with DoorDash to help spread the gospel of two-topping mediocrity to rural America. Still, the U.S. numbers flopped like prime Manu Ginobli in the NBA Finals.

Now, the good news (because there’s always a silver lining if you squint hard enough)... International sales crushed it. Same-store sales outside the U.S. jumped 3.7%, which helped prop up the overall numbers. Revenue grew 2.5% to hit $1.11 billion (a little short of the $1.13 billion the suits wanted) but profits still climbed, thanks in part to Domino’s spending a big chunk of its cash on share buybacks.

CEO Russell Weiner (no relation to Anthony Weiner, thankfully) did his best to keep investors calm, pointing to "sustained market share growth" as a sign that Domino’s is doing everything it can in a rough economy. And surprisingly, Wall Street didn’t punish them for the miss… quite the opposite. Domino’s stock rose about 5% after the report.

Investors didn’t exactly love seeing Domino’s miss on U.S. sales… but they didn’t blink either. Instead of getting stuck on a rare stumble, they zoomed out and saw what really mattered… international sales are picking up speed, the DoorDash partnership could open up a ton of new suburban and rural customers, margins are holding firm, and management’s still laser-focused on protecting profits in a tough economy.

Here’s how I see it: Domino’s didn’t earn a pass this quarter… they’ve earned it over decades. You don’t get thrown in the penalty box for one soft quarter when you’ve spent the last 20 years building a business that runs like clockwork, rain or shine. At a time when plenty of companies are tripping over their own feet trying to adjust to higher costs and weaker spending, Domino’s keeps doing what they always do… adapting, scaling smartly, and keeping shareholders fed.

The market isn’t rewarding what Domino’s did this quarter. They’re reacting based on muscle memory… the belief that even when the road gets rough, Domino’s knows exactly how to course-correct faster than just about anyone else in the game.

PS: The headlines are full of panic… inflation’s too high, the Fed’s asleep at the wheel, and Trump never fails to kill any market momentum with more tariffs. On the surface, it looks like the market’s barely breathing.

But underneath all that noise?

We’re seeing some of the fastest stock moves in years… especially in the small-cap space, where low float and high tension can trigger a 100% pop before lunch. Some are up 200% in under 24 hours… and nobody on CNBC is talking about them.

Except us.

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Stock.News has positions in Exxon and Starbucks.