Investors were hungry for Domino's Pizza (DPZ 0.87%) stock Monday morning. The company reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 results before the bell, and beat earnings expectations. Management also reiterated how it plans to continue to grow. Investors cheered the report, pushing the pizza chain's shares up by as much as 10%. As of 11:57 a.m. ET, the stock remained up by 6.5%.
Huge dividend hike
Domino's also raised its quarterly dividend by a whopping 25%, boosting its annual dividend yield to about 1.3%. And management increased its share buyback program by $1 billion. Its existing share repurchase plan still had more than $141 million remaining, so the new total available for buybacks represents about 7.5% of the company's recent market cap.
Plans to grow sales and stores
Management has the confidence to return those funds to shareholders because it has plans to continue to grow the company. At an Investor Day event in December, Domino's told investors that it plans to open at least 1,100 new stores through 2028. It also anticipates annualized retail sales growth of 7% over the next four years.
One expected driver of that continuing growth is the partnership with Uber that Domino's announced last year. Customers can now use the Uber Eats app to get Domino's delivery orders. The company hopes that will help bring it more business from wealthier households and will boost sales in its delivery channel. Investors today are craving Domino's stock as much as its pizza.
