Domino’s reported network sales down 2% and EBIT up 1% in 1H26.  The company is pursuing cost savings and lower discounting aggressively. However, so far the drop in same store sales seems larger than the gross margin gain for franchisees. We expect SSSg to decline in FY26e and return to very modest growth in FY27e as the company focuses more on gross margins. A good portion of targeted cost savings will be passed onto franchisees. Even so they account for less than half the required lift in franchisee EBITDA. Domino’s is taking decisive action to restore profitability but we expect the stock to be range bound until the new CEO starts by August 2026.

GyG reported network sales up 18% and EBITDA 30% higher for 1H26. While comparable sales momentum has slowed, EBITDA margin improvement was strong, helped by modest overhead cost growth. GyG’s comparable sales growth is more likely to settle near 4%-5% going forward. Operating leverage in 1H26e is likely to soften in 2H26e as overhead cost growth follows store growth more closely.  We expect US losses of $11-$16 million to persist for at least the next three years, which may frustrate some investors.

Domino’s remains a topical stock with debates about its appeal as a takeover target and also as a cost out opportunity. In our view, these two debates need to accompany a discussion about its weak sales growth and poor franchisee profitability. Without an acceleration in same store sales, cost savings will be difficult to bank for shareholders. If franchisee profitability does not improve, there is a risk there will be more store closures globally.

Domino’s reported FY25 EBIT of $198 million, down 5%. The result showed very weak sales trends across all geographies and EBIT margin declines for Asia are a concern given the significant store closures should have improved profitability.  Franchisee profitability is flat and well below healthy levels, raising the risk of more store closures. The decision to reduce discounting is dangerous in our view as the margin uplift may be wiped out by lower transaction volumes.

GyG reported FY25 network sales growth of 23% and EBITDA at $65.1 million, up 46%. The company reported a step-down in comparable sales growth to 3.7% in the first seven weeks of 1Q26 vs 8.6% in 4Q25. The debate will be whether this lower growth persists and tempers expectations for margin expansion. While operating leverage may soften, the store rollout is skewed toward higher earning drive-thru sites and favourable moves in input costs will offset lower sales expectations in FY26e. The rebasing of comparable sales growth may be scrutinised, but even 4%-5% comp growth is still market leading.

Domino’s recently announced that its relatively new CEO Mark Van Dyck would step down. While the Board is supportive of his strategic plan, it wanted faster progress. The limited detail we have on its strategy shows a focus on improved profit margins more so than store growth. We expect limited sales growth and margin recovery will only be evident in 2026 onwards.

The new information in Domino’s 1H25 result about its franchisee profitability and pending strategic update leave a degree of uncertainty on the stock. Franchisee profitability is still 34% lower than where it needs to be. We expect a strategic update in May or June 2025 to focus on margin improvement opportunities. Given EBIT margins are 5% vs a potential of 7%, the upside is meaningful. Domino’s will need a new investor audience attracted to the margin upside, because store growth is likely to be lower.

GyG reported 1H25 network sales growth of 23% and network EBITDA growth of 28%. The strong sales have been helped by growth of breakfast sales and after 9pm. In addition, delivery sales have grown as a share of the business. While there was less operating leverage than hoped, the primary driver is additional store openings, which are a drag on margins in their first 12 months. While near-term leverage is softer, the company’s scope for store growth and margin expansion remains strong.

Domino’s trading update and news of store closures in Japan signals a clear shift towards improving profit margins and existing store sales productivity. We expect profit margins to improve from 5% last year to 7% medium-term. The unknown is whether this occurs by shrinking the network further.

Chemist Warehouse has provided a trading update for the 1H25 results last week subsequent to shareholder approval of the merger with Sigma Healthcare. The 1H25 results are very strong with profit margins up 138bp (on network sales) in 1H25. What’s driving results? While not disclosed, we estimate more than half comes from higher gross margins with a benefit from the new Sigma supply agreement. We expect FY25e EBIT margins to be up 101bp. We now set our long-term EBIT margin for Chemist Warehouse at 8.2% of network sales compared with 7.4% previously.