Domino's Pizza, Inc. (DPZ Quick QuoteDPZ - Free Report) is benefiting from strong expansion initiatives, impressive comparable sales growth, the adoption of digital technologies and continuous menu innovation. Consequently, the company’s shares have gained 21.2% in the past six months compared with the industry’s increase of 0.1%. Let’s delve deeper and find out the factors driving the stock higher.

Expansion Efforts

Since a significant portion of Domino's revenues come from outside the United States, the company is firmly dedicated to increasing its footprint in rapidly growing international markets as a strategic move to enhance its business. During the fiscal second quarter, the company added 27 net new stores in the United States, thereby bringing the total U.S. system store count to 6,735 stores. During the quarter, its international business added 170 net new stores. Also, it is confident about its two to three-year outlook of 5-7% in annual global net store growth.

Digitalization to Drive Growth

This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company is investing heavily in technology-driven initiatives like digital ordering to bolster sales. Meanwhile, Domino’s digital loyalty program — Piece of the Pie Rewards — continues to contribute significantly to traffic gains. The extended ways to order a pizza have kept Domino’s at the forefront of digital ordering and customer convenience.

During the first quarter of fiscal 2023, the company initiated the rollout of electric vehicles for pizza delivery. Apart from this, enhanced make-line and cut-table technology and AI-enabled forecasting are being rolled out for the better matching of demand with capacity. The initiatives are likely to enhance the speed, accuracy and efficiency of services going forward.

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Solid Comps Growth

Robust comps growth continues to impress investors. During the fiscal second quarter, global retail sales (including total franchise and company-owned units) rose 4.3% on a year-over-year basis in the fiscal second quarter. The upside was driven by higher international store sales (up 6.9% year over year). Meanwhile, the U.S. store sales increased 1.7% year over year. Excluding foreign-currency impacts, global retail sales increased 5.8% from the prior-year quarter’s levels.

At domestic company-owned stores, DPZ’s comps increased 5.5% year over year against a decline of 9.2% reported in the year-ago quarter. Domestic franchise store comps fell 0.1% year over year compared with a decline of 2.5% reported in the prior-year quarter. Comps at international stores, excluding foreign-currency translation, increased 3.6% year over year against a decline of 2.2% reported in the prior-year quarter.

Other Key Picks

Below we present some other top-ranked stocks in the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector.

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 67.9%, on average. Shares of TAST have surged 339.3% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TAST’s 2023 sales and earnings per share (EPS) indicates 8.1% and 124.3% growth, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI Quick QuoteBJRI - Free Report) currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 121.2%, on average. Shares of BJRI have gained 15.7% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BJRI’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates 5.6% and 423.5% growth, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (ARCO Quick QuoteARCO - Free Report) currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. ARCO has a long-term earnings growth rate of 9.5%. The stock has gained 21.8% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arcos Dorados’ 2023 sales and EPS suggests a rise of 19% and 11.6%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.