DPZ Dominos Pizza Inc

By Micah Maidenberg 

Domino's Pizza Inc. said that sales growth may be slower than it previously expected over the next few years, a warning that comes as more restaurant chains begin offering delivery.

The world's largest pizza company said Tuesday it expects U.S. same-store sales, a metric that covers sales from Domino's locations open for at least a year, to grow between 2% and 5% over the next two to three years. Earlier, the company predicted those sales would increase 3% to 6% over three to five years.

Domino's faces heightened competition for diners as a broader set of competitors start offering food via third-party delivery companies, often at cheap prices.

McDonald's Corp., for example, has struck delivery deals with DoorDash Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. 's Uber Eats. In August, Panera Bread said it would work with those two services, as well as Grubhub Inc.

Domino's on Tuesday reported $820.8 million in revenue for its fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 8, up about 4% compared with last year but weaker than predictions from Wall Street analysts, according to FactSet.

Same-store sales grew 2.4% in the U.S. in the quarter compared with a year earlier.

Shares of Domino's fell about 6% in premarket trading.

The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company reported a profit of $86.4 million, or $2.05 a share, in the latest quarter, compared with earnings of $84.1 million, or $1.95, a year earlier.

Domino's adjusted profit, also $2.05 a share, missed expectations by 2 cents.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 08, 2019 08:29 ET (12:29 GMT)

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