Papa John's International, Inc. PZZA

Competitive advantage analysis · consumer-cyclical

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
56/100
Moderate

Ranked against 56 peers in Restaurants

About Papa John's International, Inc.

Papa John's International, Inc. operates and franchises pizza delivery and carryout restaurants under the Papa Johns trademark in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants, North America Franchising, North America Commissaries, and International. The company operates dine-in and delivery restaurants. It also offers pizza and other food and beverage products. In addition, the … Full PZZA analysis →

Key strengths

  • ROIC Sustainably Above Peers ROIC at 83.3th percentile exceeds peers and WACC, demonstrating superior capital allocation.
  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.78), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.

Key risks

  • Inconsistent Cash Generation Cash generation is inconsistent (score 0.44), indicating operational challenges.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Moderate
56
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Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

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Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

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Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

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Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where PZZA ranks in Restaurants

Papa John's International, Inc. ranks #26 of 57 scored companies in Restaurants by moat score — the top 46%. The widest moat in the group is Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) at 83/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
22 Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. ARCO 59/100 Moderate
23 Biglari Holdings Inc. BH-A 58/100 Moderate
24 Biglari Holdings Inc. BH 58/100 Moderate
25 Portillo's Inc. PTLO 57/100 Moderate
26 Papa John's International, Inc. PZZA 56/100 Moderate
27 BJ's Restaurants, Inc. BJRI 56/100 Moderate
28 CAVA Group, Inc. CAVA 54/100 Moderate
29 RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. RICK 53/100 Moderate
30 Denny's Corporation DENN 50/100 Developing

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How PZZA scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 56 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 54 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 60 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 72 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 48 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 46 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding PZZA's moat

What is Papa John's International, Inc.'s moat score?

Papa John's International, Inc. (PZZA) scores 56 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #26 of 57 scored companies in Restaurants, the top 46%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 56 companies in Restaurants. Its strongest defense is Capital Efficiency (72/100) and its weakest is Scale & Market Position (46/100).

How does Papa John's International, Inc. compare with other Restaurants companies?

Papa John's International, Inc. ranks #26 of 57 scored companies in Restaurants by moat score. The widest moat in Restaurants is Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) at 83/100. The companies ranked closest are Portillo's Inc. (PTLO) at 57 just above it and BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) at 56 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 56 companies in Restaurants. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Papa John's International, Inc. scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Papa John's International, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and PZZA scores: Pricing Power (56), Cost Advantage (54), Customer Stickiness (60), Capital Efficiency (72), Resilience (48), Scale & Market Position (46). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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