Domino's Comps Not Tasty Enough

Panera Bread is expected to report comps growth of 9% with high expectations for top-line growth. If the Richmond Heights, Mo.-based bakery chain manages to beat that estimate it could outpace sector leader Chipotle Mexican Grill(CMG), at least in terms of same-store sales gains.

The burrito chain said last week it grew comps 8.7% year-over-year . Chipotle's numbers were especially strong in comparison to other fast-casual chains that reported last week. BJ's Restaurants(BJRI) grew comps 5.3% year-over-year, The Cheesecake Factory(CAKE) was up 1.6% and Ruby Tuesday(RT) managed just 0.3%.

Investors expect Buffalo Wild to earn 42 cents per share, while Panera should book profits of 84 cents per share. Recent price increases should help Buffalo's reported margins, DiFrisco said, but investors should look more closely at quarter-to-date trends than what happened last quarter.

For the recent quarter Domino's booked net profits of $22.6 million, or 37 cents per share, in the recent quarter, up from $14.5 million, or 25 cents per share, in the year-earlier period, attributed to improved margins, lower interest expenses and a lower tax rate. Excluding one-item items, profits were 33 cents per share, easily beating expectations for earnings of 28 cents.

Revenues grew 14.5% to $362.4 million thanks to higher volumes and improved global comps.

CEO J. Patrick Doyle stressed that increased sales "were not just driven by trial, but by repeat orders from our new larger customer base," lured by the company's recently launched new pizza recipe.

-- Reported by Miriam Marcus Reimer from New York.

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