Savvy strategies power their sales gains

Article Excerpt

During the pandemic, both Domino’s Pizza and Chipotle implemented savvy strategies to support their businesses. Now, as the economy normalizes, we think each is well-positioned to capitalize on its popular offerings to keep attracting dine-in, pick-up and takeout customers. Each stock also remains a buy. DOMINO’S PIZZA, $323.40 (New York symbol DPZ; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (www.dominos.com; Shares o/s: 35.4 million; Market cap: $11.6 billion; Yield: 1.4%), gives you exposure to the world’s largest chain of pizza stores offering takeout and delivery. The company (symbol DPZ on New York) operates 19,519 outlets, in the U.S. and 85 other countries. Franchisees run most of these stores. In the three months ended September 11, 2022, the company’s sales rose 7.1%, to $1.07 billion from $998.0 million a year earlier. Same-store sales rose 2.0% in the U.S., although they fell 1.8% internationally. That decline in international same store sales was driven in part by a value added tax holiday in the U.K. in the third quarter of 2021 that…