Papa John's

The youngest of America’s big four pizza chains, founded in 1984, now roughly 6,000 delivery stores in nearly 50 countries.
10 figures on Papa John's, drawn from 4 Modern MBA case studies.
The figures
US dollars5
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue by segment in 2022 · Supply chain sales | $869M | 1st of 3 · top $869M | How Papa John’s buried Papa John |
| Revenue by segment in 2022 · Company restaurant sales | $701M | 2nd of 3 · top $869M | How Papa John’s buried Papa John |
| Revenue by segment in 2022 · Franchise royalties | $137M | 3rd of 3 · top $869M | How Papa John’s buried Papa John |
| Average annual sales | $1.1M | 6th of 9 · top $6.3M | Why pizza is the best restaurant business |
| Average cost to open a store, excluding real estate | $0.56M | 6th of 7 · top $1.42M | Why pizza is the best restaurant business |
Percentages1
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Store-level operating margin by restaurant chain in 2022 | 17% | 3rd of 13 · top 24% | Why Taco Bell got so expensive |
Counts2
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide store count across John Schnatter’s first run · 2004 | 2,829 | 3rd of 3 · top 12,274 | How Papa John’s buried Papa John |
| Worldwide store count across John Schnatter’s first run · 2000 | 2,612 | 3rd of 3 · top 12,084 | How Papa John’s buried Papa John |
Durations1
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration of chief executive searches at large companies, in months | 13.5 mo | 1st of 9 · top 13.5 mo | Why Chipotle got so much worse |
Measures1
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Average size of a domestic store, in square feet | 1,250 | 7th of 7 · top 4,000 | How Papa John’s buried Papa John |
Case studies covering Papa John's
Case study — Food & beverageHow Papa John’s buried Papa JohnSix regimes in thirty years, four of them engineered by the founder. The filings contradict his version.13 min read
Case study — Food & beverageWhy Chipotle got so much worseA weekly staple became a byword for small portions and high prices in under ten years. Here is what broke.10 min read
Case study — Food & beverageWhy pizza is the best restaurant businessThe one restaurant category where independents beat the chains on margin and almost nobody goes bankrupt.10 min read
Case study — Food & beverageWhy Taco Bell got so expensiveThe most profitable chain in fast food is being squeezed hardest, and the reason is KFC and Pizza Hut.11 min readNew episodes
Don’t let an algorithm decide what you get to see.
Get an email the moment a new episode drops, with commentary that never made the final cut.
