Papa John’s Is Having Its Worst Sales Drop in Years, Pizza Hut Is Closing 250 Locations, and Internet Thinks It Knows Why

A post in r/NoStupidQuestions asked why Domino's, Papa John's, and Pizza Hut appear to be struggling across metrics including traffic, sales, location growth, and market value.

The poster wrote about two theories: that third-party delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats erased the chains' old advantage of offering their own delivery, and that frozen grocery store pizza has become a cheaper, comparable substitute.

The poster also noted that Domino's had performed the best of the three but had still declined compared to recent years.

According to Restaurant Dive, Papa John's North American sales fell 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2026, which was the brand's worst quarterly drop in years. The chain's store sales have declined in seven of the past eight quarters, and it plans to close 300 underperforming restaurants by the end of 2027.

Pizza Hut reported eight consecutive quarters of store sales declines, and its parent company, Yum Brands, planned to close roughly 250 underperforming U.S. locations in the first half of 2026 while exploring a possible sale of the brand, according to Restaurant Dive.

Domino's, meanwhile, managed just 0.9 percent domestic same-store sales growth in its most recent quarter, though it remains the strongest performer among the three, according to CNBC.

Several replies agreed with the poster's theory about delivery apps directly. One commenter wrote, "The Papa John's near me has outsourced their deliveries to DoorDash even if you order directly, and consequently they take zero accountability if the pizza shows up damaged/wrong/etc. That alone has steered me away from them."

Another commenter expanded on that theory, writing, "The delivery system they had was kind of the whole thing. You could get a pizza pretty quick, and that person worked for the company. Plus it's another person to pay and their fees are insane. Just a truly bad move."

Others said the bigger draw was quality rather than delivery. One person wrote, "For me it's that local pizza shops have way better pizza, so I simply never go to the chains."

Another pointed to more budget-friendly competitors instead, writing that Little Caesars deals through T-Mobile got them "a large pepperoni pizza" for around three dollars, adding that ordering delivery from other chains "is not cheap if you want really good pizza."

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify individual commenters' experiences with specific store locations. Sales and closure figures were supplemented by reporting from Restaurant Dive and CNBC.