Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, which operates Domino’s, Popeyes, Hong’s Kitchen, and Coffy, held its Q4FY26 earnings call on May 20. Here are the key developments management disclosed on the call and investor presentation.
1. Aggregators are outgrowing Domino’s own delivery channel. An analyst noted during the call that food aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato are now growing faster than Domino’s delivery channel. Chief executive officer (CEO) Sameer Khetarpal conceded: “The aggregators have grown faster than the delivery of Domino’s, that bit I agree, which would only indicate that the QSR as a basket has not grown as fast. And therefore, the aggregators are getting growth from other non-QSR players or premium players.”
Delivery channel revenue had grown by more than 20% for five consecutive quarters since the free delivery initiative launched. Q4’s 10.3% growth breaks that streak.
Explaining why Domino’s has not adopted platform fees similar to those charged by aggregators, Khetarpal reiterated a position he has maintained since Q1FY26: “I’m dead against that. I have seen this play out for almost 15 years of my life. Our own app is growing for a reason, because we kept it simple. We’ve kept it unhidden price.”
MediaNama has covered Jubilant’s consistent refusal to charge platform fees on its own app.
Despite the slowdown, Khetarpal said a Nielsen panel of 50,000 customers confirms Domino’s has gained market share in both the pizza category and the broader quick-service restaurant (QSR) market.
- “There is one truth that Domino’s has gained share. It has gained share in the category. It has gained share in the QSR space.”
- “Quarter-on-quarter is more noise. What we should look at is a full annual number, which actually for 2 years have been closer to 7%.”
- On Q1 outlook: “The quarter 1, we’ve already done better than Q4.”
2. Dine-in and takeaway remain the unsolved problem. While delivery continues to grow, Khetarpal identified dine-in and takeaway as a separate and unresolved challenge. “The real challenge to solve over there is the Dine-in and Takeaway sales,” he said. Dine-in revenue has been declining as the company’s store format increasingly shifts toward smaller, delivery-focused outlets.
3. GenAI chatbot and Location AI launched on the Domino’s app. Jubilant FoodWorks launched a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) chatbot on the Domino’s app as a virtual customer assistant. The chatbot handles customer complaints and can issue coupons autonomously. The investor presentation shows it offering a Rs 150 coupon as a service gesture during a conversation without human intervention.
The investor presentation lists three new technology layers now operating on the platform:
- GenAI chatbot — autonomous customer service and coupon issuance
- Location AI — used for store site selection and delivery routing
- Popeyes 2.0 app — launched during Q4 as a dedicated brand app
In Q3FY26, Khetarpal said AI was already embedded in store site selection — “Our site selection is totally AI-enabled now and we have a list of 1,000 stores.” Q4 adds the GenAI chatbot and Location AI as new layers on top of that. The app is now simultaneously an ordering platform, an advertising platform, and an autonomous customer service system.
4. Minimum order value cut was a deliberate market-share decision. “We have very consciously taken a call to reduce minimum order value from Rs 149 to Rs 99. To gain market share to make sure that we are building a business for the long run and acquire new customers,” said Khetarpal, referring to the decision to match competitors on the minimum order threshold.
Explaining why Jubilant prioritised volume over margins, Khetarpal said:
- “From a priority standpoint, we’ve prioritized growth. And from a growth standpoint, we prioritize volume metric growth because we are building a business for the long run.”
- “We believe in our business where almost more than 50% of the cost is fixed cost. Growth is the biggest driver of margins. And hence, I continue to remain optimistic about driving both growth and margins.”
5. Triple inflation threat: more exposed on LPG, protected on delivery fuel. An analyst pointed out that Jubilant has significantly higher liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exposure than other QSR chains because pizza ovens run on LPG. Another analyst flagged reports of an LPG shortage in India.
Addressing the energy situation, Khetarpal said:
- “If tomorrow war were to die down and things were to go back to normal, we also know that the energy prices are at an all-time high elevated level.”
- “There is a mandate from the government to convert to pipe natural gas.”
- On the delivery fleet: “The large part of our fleet is actually electric. I think, therefore, we believe we have an advantage versus the rest of the market.”
The investor presentation confirms that approximately 67% of the delivery fleet consists of electric vehicles (EVs), with the share continuing to increase. The company is also converting ovens from LPG to electric and piped natural gas (PNG).
Jubilant operates its own delivery fleet of approximately 37,000 bikes instead of relying on gig platforms. This means its delivery workers are employees rather than gig workers, making labour-cost increases more directly impactful.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Suman Hegde confirmed three simultaneous labour-cost pressures for the first time:
- The Labour Code adds approximately 20 basis points.
- Minimum wage increases across 11 of 29 states add another 20–30 basis points.
- The 76% delivery mix creates additional labour inflation because Jubilant operates its own fleet.
“So there are 3 or 4 elements to it, which takes it higher than the 30 bps only on account of the Labour Code, which we had indicated in the past,” Hegde said, explaining why the total labour-cost impact is larger than previously disclosed.
On commodities, Hegde said, “If petrol diesel prices go up and as logistics cost goes up across the board, commodities will see further inflation.” Discussing the duration of these pressures, he added, “Now will it be for a quarter, 2 quarters, 3 quarters, I think, at this stage, is anybody’s guess.”
6. Gross margin improved through premium products and lower wastage. Explaining how the company improved gross margins despite inflationary pressures, Khetarpal said, “We have taken calibrated price increases in Volcano Pizza. We had worked on our cost. We have reduced wastages materially. We launched Big Big Pizza, we launched Sourdough Pizza, we launched some of the more premium products. So by conscious effort of wastage reduction, launch of premium products, mix changes and calibrated price increases, we have increased the margin.”
7. Management denied a price rollback. An analyst alleged during the call that Jubilant had rolled back a price increase in April, citing an order history that showed a Rs 10 reduction in the price of garlic breadsticks. Both Khetarpal and Hegde denied the claim.
Khetarpal said, “There has been no price-increase, which has been rolled back in April or anything. I think our price increases are very calibrated after 14 to 16 weeks of strong experimentation.”
Hegde added, referring to store-level pricing variation: “That will be very store specific and discount specific variation. We do a lot of this recalibration of prices. At an overall level there’s not any of that changes that have happened.”
8. Popeyes scaling well; Dunkin exiting. Popeyes delivered same-store sales growth (SSG) of 28% in FY26 and expanded into Pune. On the brand’s positioning, Khetarpal said, “It’s going to be focused on anyone who cares about value. So, it’s going to be mass India. We still believe there’s a large opportunity serving brands for a billion people eventually.”
Meanwhile, Dunkin has been reclassified as a discontinued operation. As of March 31, 2026, Dunkin had 27 stores in operation.
9. Delivery is reshaping store design. “When I joined the company 4 years ago, there were a lot of store approvals we were giving, which were for 1,500, 1,600 square feet. We don’t do that size of stores even in Tier 3, Tier 4 now,” said Khetarpal. Discussing the new store format and its impact on capital expenditure, he added:
- “Our go-to model in large metros is actually a delivery carry-out store. So we are opening more delivery carryout stores, which are about 600, 700 square feet.”
- “Our capex per store has actually reduced year-on-year, and almost nearly 3 years in a row by 20%.”
Key operational numbers: Q4FY26
| Metric | Q4FY26 |
|---|---|
| Domino’s like-for-like (LFL) growth, measuring sales at stores open for at least a year | 0.2% (vs 5% in Q3FY26) |
| Domino’s delivery channel revenue growth | 10.3% year-on-year (vs 28% in Q3FY26) |
| Own app monthly active users (MAU) | 17.1 million (+25% year-on-year) |
| Popeyes same-store growth (SSG) in FY26 | 28% |
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