In an 8-K filed this morning with the SEC, Papa Johns announced that its CFO Ann Gugino will be stepping down from her position. She will remain an employee of the company through May 31, 2023 and will receive a continuation of 12 months worth of base salary and other benefits, subject to compliance and applicable confidentiality and non-competition requirements. 

Gugino will be replaced by Chris Collins, who has been with the company since 2021 as Vice President, Treasury and Tax. The market immediately digested the news as a negative for the company, with the stock down 4.28% on the day.

When a CFO suddenly resigns, there tends to be questions as to the financial health of a company. In particular, many are left wondering if there are issues which haven't been publicly disclosed. Gugino is one of several higher-ups to leave the company so far this year:

• On February 6, EVP and Chief Operating Officer Max Wetzel resigned from his position to assume a CEO role with another company
• On February 16, Olivia Kirtley announced her retirement from the Board of Directors
• On March 1, Jefferey Smith immediately resigned from the Board. Smith's move came the same day Papa Johns repurchased 2,176,298 shares from Starboard Value (the company Smith is the CEO of).

The company's stock is down over 20% over the past year:

So just what is going on with Papa Johns? For one, it seems that the pandemic-driven demand for pizza has slowed down. The company's free cash flow is down significantly from 2021, from $109.722 million to $39.417 million.

The pizza business is highly competitive, based on consumer spending habits. Quite simply, companies who offer cheaper deals will gain market share. As the specials get cheaper and food costs remain high, earnings will take a hit. Fortunately, over the past year, cheese prices have come down (slightly):

On the company's most recent earnings call, CEO Rob Lynch had this to say: “Looking ahead to 2023, we will continue to grow on top of the solid foundation we have built over the past three years as we deliver on our strategic priorities and build the world’s best pizza company. Investments in product and digital innovation, combined with strong operational excellence, will continue to enhance the customer experience and contribute to healthy North America comparable sales and unit economics. Our differentiated brand positioning, winning product innovation and operational excellence will continue to deliver strong unit development and system-wide sales growth globally.”

What actually lies ahead for Papa Johns may be more rough quarters, both in terms of revenue and bottom lines. 

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