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Papa John's business is hot during the COVID-19 pandemic

Papa John’s (PZZA) has seen a hardcore spike in its business with mostly everyone quarantined at home eating double their normal amount (for whatever reason) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There really is no other way to characterize the company’s current sales trends.

Papa John’s saw North America same-store sales explode 27% in April, driven by a combination of more order volume and higher average transaction value. First quarter same-store sales in North America rose 5.3%, with international sales gaining 2.3%.

The company has found success amidst the pandemic not just selling traditional pizza, but also new pizza like sandwiches released in February dubbed papadias and jalapeno poppers.

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CEO of Papa John’s Rob Lynch sounds like a man overseeing a fast-food business that has continued its momentum into May.

“It definitely was in April,” Lynch said on Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade, when asked if double-digit sales were the new short-term normal for Papa John’s. “We started off the year strong and made sure that we had the services that people need. We moved to no contact delivery, and that was well received by our customers. They felt they could get food delivered to their house in a safe way. Plus [we saw] continued demand for our services.”

FILE- This Dec. 21, 2017, file photo shows a slice of cheese pizza at the Papa John's pizza shop in Quincy, Mass. Papa John’s plans to pull Schnatter’s image from marketing materials after reports he used a racial slur. Schnatter apologized Wednesday, July 11, and said he would resign as chairman after Forbes reported that he used the slur during a media training session. Schnatter had stepped down as CEO last year after criticizing NFL protests. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Papa John’s shares rose 3% on afternoon trading Wednesday. The stock has skyrocketed 90% since turnaround expert Lynch — credited with reviving the fortunes of roast beef sandwich chain Arby’s — was announced as CEO in August 2019. Domino’s Pizza shares are up 68% during that same span, while Yum! Brands (owner of Pizza Hut) is down roughly 29%.

“While we recognize some investors may balk at the valuation, we believe the brand is still in the early stages of a turnaround and has yet to benefit from menu innovation, expanded digital reach, accelerating unit development and eventual re-franchising of company-owned units,” said BTIG restaurant analyst Peter Saleh in a recent note to clients.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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