The Best-Selling Pizza Chain In America Isn't Papa Johns Or Pizza Hut

While the frozen pizza market has been steadily growing since the 1990s, the U.S. still loves the classic pizza delivered hot and fresh. It makes sense, then, that the most profitable pizza chain in America is also the one that has made the most innovations in making delivery fast and easy. Domino's, the pizza company that essentially turned into a tech company, whose app tracks a pizza's progress from the oven to your door, reported U.S. sales of $9.5 billion in 2024 according to QSR.

Pizza Hut, which got into the wine business in 2024, has almost half the amount of sales at $5.5 billion. In third is Papa Johns, which is way down there at a little over $3.8 billion in sales. Surprisingly, Domino's isn't the pizza chain with the most locations in the U.S. That distinction belongs to the chain hiding out in convenience stores and gas stations, Hunts Brothers, with over 10,000 spots. That chain is privately held, though, so it does not report its sales. Hunts Brothers doesn't own its own pizzerias; rather, the company supplies store owners with everything they need while the owner runs the operation. Domino's still fares well when it comes to its overall number of shops, with over 7,000 stores nationwide.

Domino's wasn't always at the front of the pack. In 2008 and 2009, while the pizza industry was growing, Domino's closed 120 stores. It had created the innovative Pizza Tracker tool to showcase when your pizza would arrive, but knowing when your bad decision was arriving to haunt you wasn't exactly a bonus. In 2010, Domino's ran an ad campaign titled "Our Pizza Sucks." This wasn't tongue in cheek. Its pizza was widely considered to be poorer quality than the competition. The campaign was launched with the release of their new pizza. The chain had spent 2009 remaking its recipes, and that seismic change in its pizza-making worked. People liked the new pies, appreciated that Domino's had embraced its bad reputation, and the rebound began.

After this turnaround, Domino's doubled down on technology. In 2011, the CEO asked his tech team to make its app so fast, a person could order a pizza at a stoplight in the 17 seconds it took to change. By 2018, more than half of all its orders were placed via its app, which made it faster and easier to order pizza. Domino's even got its app on Apple CarPlay, making it so you can order dinner while at a stoplight on your drive home. Those innovations helped Domino's leap to the front of the pack and secure that position.