PZZA (Post-Call) A Welcome Return to Positive Comps December 18th Field Trip
Earlier today, Papa John’s (PZZA; Buy) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of $0.21, short of our $0.23 forecast and sell-side consensus (according to Consensus Metrix) of $0.22. The company’s full-year 2019 adjusted EPS target range stays at $1.00-$1.20. We keep our Q4E EPS projection unchanged at $0.35. Given that Q3 missed our EPS estimate by two cents, this brings down our full-year 2019E EPS forecast by two cents, to $1.15. Please note that as of this writing, sell-side consensus is at $1.13. (Our full-year 2020E and 2021E EPS estimates remain unchanged at $1.55 and $1.75, respectively.)