While Starbucks has warned of price competition in China and Apple tries to drum up momentum with a new store in Shanghai, other U.S. consumer brands are seeing growth and planning for more. Domino’s Pizza’s China operator DPC Dash reported Wednesday its 26th straight quarter of same-store sales growth — including the pandemic period. Last year’s revenue of 3.05 billion yuan ($429.6 million) was more than triple that in 2019, while net losses narrowed to about a tenth of what they’ve been in prior years. “We continue to think that the company will turn net profit positive in 2025,” HSBC analysts said in a note Thursday. “Growth from new markets will continue to drive the overall growth of the company,” the analysts said. Chinese President Xi Jinping last week met with visiting U.S. executives as part of Beijing’s bid to bolster foreign investment in China . While advanced tech is a focus of bilateral tensions, the U.S. and China have said they are looking to cooperate in areas such as climate and tourism. China’s massive consumer market of hundreds of millions of households also remains attractive to many businesses. Pizza push Domino’s has a roughly 14% stake in DPC Dash, which listed in Hong Kong about a year ago. The pizza brand opened its 800th store in China in January, and plans to open 200 more by the end of the year. Papa John’s , which does not break out China revenues, said it had 317 franchised locations there in 2023, up from 262 a year prior. Outside of North America, the number of Papa John’s locations in China is second only to those in the U.K. The company said international revenue overall grew by 21% last year. Pizza is also taking off in smaller Chinese cities, and making the global rankings in sales. In 2023, DPC opened the first Domino’s stores in 13 cities outside the better-known metropolises such as Shanghai and Beijing. Four of those new locations jumped to the top of Domino’s global rankings of stores with the most sales in the first 30 days of opening, according to DPC Dash. It added that China locations have now snagged the top 19 spots for best-performing Domino’s store openings. A new store in the north-central city of Xi’an came in first with sales of more than 6.3 million yuan within the first 30 days of opening, according to DPC Dash. That was followed by a new store in the central China city of Changsha, with initial sales of more than 5.2 million yuan. “We didn’t actually spend a lot of marketing dollars to let people know” about the new stores, DPC Dash CEO Aileen Wang told me in an interview on Thursday. “People naturally know and they come.” She characterized it as an inflection point for the company. Advertising and promotion expenses fell to 5.2% of revenue in 2023, down from 5.8% the prior year, DPC said in its 2023 results. New growth markets outside Shanghai and Beijing saw revenue double in 2023, and in the second half of the year contributed to more than half of total revenue for the first time, the company said. It noted that it hasn’t begun delivery services yet for some new stores. As for whether Domino’s Pizza was feeling pressure from any cautiousness among consumers, Wang pointed out the company has a starting price of 39 yuan ($5.49) per order and a 30% discount every Tuesday and Wednesday. Average sales value per order did fall by 7.1% in Shanghai and Beijing in 2023, according to DPC’s latest results. “We are certainly cautious about the catering sector in FY24E,” Hong Kong-based investment bank CMB International said in a note last week. “But we think DPC could still gain market share under the consumption trade down and enjoy rapid boost in growth from new markets expansion.” DPC is the third largest pizza brand in China, CMBI’s analyst Walter Woo said in a separate note. “DPC remains our top pick in the catering sector, thanks to its value for money position, huge room for expansion in China and esp. its consistent success in new growth markets.” Woo has a buy rating on DPC Dash and a price target of 73.05 Hong Kong dollars. HSBC maintained its buy rating on DPC Dash, and trimmed their price target to 71 Hong Kong dollars ($9.07) due to lower expectations about long-term revenue growth. That price target is still more than 40% above where shares closed Thursday. Western food acceptance The Hong Kong Stock Exchange was closed for Good Friday, and doesn’t reopen until Tuesday. The exchange will also be shut on Thurs., April 4, for a local Chinese holiday. The mainland exchanges are closed April 4 and 5 for the holiday. “Chinese people do eat pizza,” DPC Dash CEO Wang said. “As the income level goes up, the acceptance [of] Western food is going higher.” Yum China, which owns Pizza Hut in China among other brands, is set to release earnings in late April. McDonald’s recently acquired a larger stake in its China operations, and in February said it plans to have 10,000 stores in China by the end of 2028. That’s nearly double the company’s store count of 5,903 as of the end of last year. “Certainly in China, as you’ve read about and seen with a number of other companies, consumer sentiment in the country is a little bit more under pressure right now, and that is leading to – in Q4 in particular we saw the environment get more promotional,” CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski said on the company’s latest earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. But, he said, “we certainly think that we’re going to continue to see good comp performance in that market, as consumer wealth and GDP continue to grow mid-single digits.”
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Crypto stocks – Stocks tied to crypto prices jumped amid reports that President-elect Donald Trump could release an executive order making crypto a national priority as soon as the first day of his new term. Shares of crypto exchange operators Coinbase and Robinhood advanced 4.5% and 6%, respectively. Trading activity in small cap cryptocurrencies benefits trading platforms. Bitcoin proxies MicroStrategy and Mara Holdings gained 6% and 10%, respectively. Novo Nordisk — Shares slipped 5% after the company’s semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in the its diabetes drugs Ozempic and Rybelsus and its obesity treatment Wegovy, landed on a list of drugs that will be included in Medicare’s next round of price negotiations . Qorvo – Shares gained more than 12% after activist investor Starboard Value disclosed a 7.7% stake in Qorvo and is seeking changes to improve the company’s share price. Vistra — The energy company’s stock shed 1.9% after a major fire erupted at its battery-storage facility in Northern California and led to the evacuation of nearby residents. MoonLake Immunotherapeutics — The biopharma stock added 4% following an upgrade to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs. Analyst Richard Law said that the company’s experimental treatment for a chronic skin condition, SLK, could “potentially deliver best-in-class results.” Lam Research , Applied Materials — The semiconductor equipment stocks rose 1.3% and 2.2%, respectively, after KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded both companies to overweight from sector weight. Lam Research and Applied Materials have exposure to artificial intelligence-related devices that should lead their stocks higher, the firm said. J.B. Hunt — The transport stock fell 6% after a fourth-quarter earnings miss. J.B. Hunt generated $1.53 in earnings per share, while analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for $1.61. The company reported that revenue declined year over year in each of its major business segments. Fastenal — Shares of the fastener distributor added 1% even though the company missed fourth-quarter expectations due to ongoing manufacturing-related challenges. Fastenal earned 46 cents per share on revenue of $1.82 billion, while analysts polled by FactSet were expecting 48 cents per share on $1.84 billion in revenue. The company did see higher unit sales during the quarter amid growth at locations opened in the past two years. Life360 — The location-sharing app’s stock rallied 8% after UBS upgraded it to buy from neutral , citing more confidence in the company’s midterm ad revenue opportunity. Intel — Shares of the chipmaker popped by 8% as the beaten-up chipmaker continues to be a part of takeover speculation following the departure of its CEO in December. The stock, which was booted from the Dow in November, is still down more than 50% in the last 12 months. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Sean Conlon, Jesse Pound, Tanaya Macheel, Samantha Subin, Lisa Han and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. J.B. Hunt Transport Services – Shares fell more than 7% after the company’s fourth-quarter earnings came in weaker than expected. J.B. Hunt earned $1.53 per share, below the LSEG consensus estimate of $1.61 per share. Meanwhile, revenue for the period came in line with expectations at $3.15 billion. Qorvo – The stock rose more than 7% after The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that activist investor Starboard Value has built a 7.7% stake in the company and is looking to make changes to boost the company’s share price. MoonLake Immunotherapeutics – The biotech stock jumped more than 4% after receiving an upgrade to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs. The firm cited the anticipation of positive phase 3 trial data for its treatment of a chronic skin condition known as hidradenitis suppurativa. Fastenal – Shares dropped more than 4% after the company’s fourth-quarter earnings and revenue missed Wall Street’s expectations. Fastenal earned 46 cents per share on revenue of $1.82 billion, while analysts polled by FactSet were expecting 48 cents per share on $1.84 billion in revenue. Life360 – The location-sharing app’s stock moved more than 3% higher after UBS upgraded it to buy from neutral , citing more confidence in the company’s midterm ad revenue opportunity as a catalyst. Rivian Automotive – The electric vehicle maker’s stock rose 2.6% after the company finalized a loan agreement with the Department of Energy for up to $6.6 billion to help build a new manufacturing site in Georgia. Construction is set to begin in 2026 with the production of customer vehicles expected to happen in 2028, according to the Thursday press release. Apple – The iPhone maker gained nearly 1%, clawing back some of the losses seen in the previous session. On Thursday, Apple shares fell around 4%, experiencing its worst day since August, on the backs of reports of lackluster iPhone sales in China . Lam Research , Applied Materials – The semiconductor equipment stocks rose about 2% after KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded both to overweight from sector weight. The investment firm said Lam Research and Applied Materials have exposure to AI-related devices which should help push their shares higher. Salesforce – The stock advanced 2% after a TD Cowen upgraded shares to buy from hold. The firm said its recent pullback has created a “compelling entry point” for investors. Cloudflare – Shares popped 3.5% on the heels of Citi’s upgrade to buy. Citi said it has improved confidence on the cloud stock’s fundamentals and growth potential. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Jesse Pound, Sarah Min, and Pia Singh contributed reporting.
Capital One said an unspecified technical issue was hampering customer account access Thursday, as some users reported issues with direct deposits.
In response to complaints on social media platform X, a Capital One representative said the bank was experiencing a “tech outage” that was affecting “a variety of functions,” with no timetable for a restoration of services.
Just before noon Thursday, the company released an official statement about the problem.
“We are experiencing a technical issue with a third-party vendor that is temporarily impacting some account services, deposits, and payment processing for portions of our consumer, small business, and commercial bank,” it said.
Late Thursday, the vendor, Fidelity Information Services (FIS) released a statement saying it was working to restore applications affected by a local area power outage at one of its data centers. An FIS spokesperson did not respond to multiple follow-up questions.
According to Downdetector.com, which tracks reports of user complaints about digital services, the issues began around 6 a.m. ET, with some 2,000 reports observed.
The site indicated the frequency of reports had started leveling off around 9 a.m. ET, but by 4 p.m., there had still not been a significant reduction in complaints registered.
The issues at Capital One come a day after Citibank acknowledged a problem affecting customers’ ability to access their accounts from mobile devices, as well as an apparent issue related to fraud alerts. While the mobile access issue appeared to have been resolved, a Citi rep said on X on Thursday it was still working to fix the fraud-alert item.