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Guest Post: Even A Money-Losing Pizza Chain Can Do An IPO
Authored by Jonathan Weil, originally posted at Bloomberg View,
Just when it seemed like investors might have lost some of their appetite for initial public offerings of companies that lose money . . . yeah, right.
Papa Murphy's Holdings Inc. priced its IPO today at $11 a share. The stock closed up a nickel. I've grown accustomed to seeing IPOs by profitless technology companies. But this is a pizza chain that had net losses of $606,000 in 2011, $2.1 million in 2012 and $2.6 million in 2013.
Now it has a stock-market value of about $187 million, or about 2.3 times its revenue last year. Founded in 1981, Papa Murphy's, based in Vancouver, Washington, sells uncooked pizzas that customers take home to bake. It had been majority-owned since 2010 by private-equity firm Lee Equity Partners LLC.
I can somewhat understand the appeal of speculating on some unproven Internet company that loses money but promises to change the world. But a 33-year-old pizza chain? Come on. In its registration statement, the company said that it has been "repeatedly rated the #1 pizza chain in the United States by multiple third-party consumer studies." So assuming that's true, why can't it make money?
Oh, but wait. It does make money on an "adjusted Ebitda" basis, which is one of those silly metrics that companies make up when they don't have actual profits to show off. Papa Murphy's said it had $24.4 million of adjusted Ebitda last year, which helpfully excluded such obviously unimportant items as -- their words here, not mine -- "expenses not indicative of future operations," "management fees and related expenses," "transaction costs" and "new store pre-opening expenses."
And of course, this makes soooo much sense. Because as we all know, management fees, transaction costs and new-store expenses aren't the same things as money. And shouldn't we all be blessed with the same power of insight that Papa Murphy has to distinguish between expenses that are indicative of the future and expenses that aren't?
Go ahead, try the pizza. But stay away from the stock.
Nope - No Bubble Here!!!
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They've been littering the SiriusXM feed of CNBC with their ads lately. Right up there with the Viagra knockoff ads, the penny stock spotlight ads, and the "Market Trend Software—a new company!" ads that have been running for a few years now.
Papa Murphy's pizzas have the same effect on me that Taco Bell does. Eat a meal and then spend the next 6-12 hours shitting out your insides in the bathroom.
Right, the first hint is in the name, everyone should know that no mick can make a decent pie.
We're all Pandora now.
P. T. Barnum was right.
Stocks aren't bought, they're sold.
Take the pork out and IPO it in the Middle East as a religious meal provider.
Better yet, enough Campaign Contributions and Mooch'll have it on her approved school meal list a la Reagan's tomatoes are vegetables.
Come to think of it, what else...
Knukies, that's a bad idea tp plant in somebody's head in DC, FFS
You might lose 95% of your investment, but you get a free garlic bread!
Not tomatoes Knukles - they are too natural - not enough money in it for big biz - it was ketchup.
Who in their right mind would buy a pizza so they can spend on hour cooking it at home [after half hour picking it up!]?
Is this a new fad? People I know buy pizza so they DON'T have to cook.
It is supposed to be cheaper this way. Whatever, their pizza is disgusting. It might be a neat idea if it were actually cheaper and the pizza was good.
they need the dough or their cake is baked
Uncooked pizzas are eligible for EBT. It's a gateway to EBT $$$
When an anonymous poster...
On a fringe blog site...
Can file a shelf registration...
For a cash shell...
And raise 8 figures of equity in an IPO...
Then perhaps we will have reached peak madness, and the crowd will see the light.
Bitchez Brewery....
Usually it's highschool kids who may or may not have changed their plastic gloves after using the bathroom.
You're supposed to cook it before you eat it.
As a good minded individual, one of upstanding maturity and character, in the interests of population control, sanitation and ecology, I always reused my condoms as a lad. Just kept turning it inside out.
Dad?
Xeno baby!
Our cute and sexy outspoken token zionist.
I thought you had disappeared.
How do we know that XenoFrog's avatar is actually her and not from someone random on facebook? I found her avatar on an inactive facebook account. I could upload a picture of maria bartiromo as my avatar, doesn't mean it's me.
We have been over this, people can use pics found on the net as an avatar.
Mine's real though.
pods
Same here.
Argh!
Well, uh, let me be, uh, perfectly clear - I, uh, or rather my, avatar, uh, is, uh real. As real as, uh, the success of the ACA. As real as, uh, the birth certificate I, uh, voluntarily provided, prior to, or, rather, uh, after the election.
I'm mothafucking Gandalf, bitchezzz.
Don't ask about my avatar.
My avatars is real and unique. There are many like it but this one is mine. I named it Surely.
Did you do the same with your women???
Go see a doctor. Something is wrong with you. The Papa Murphy's I consume are all fresh ingredients.
Fucking clown.
I do fuck but am not a clown. Thanks just the same retard.
Great product, always cooks up great and good bang for the buck.
It was before they raised their prices 40%.
..then the fuckin pie I had must have detoured into a fucking horse barn.
I was suspect of something that spliced and Irish Mic with a Wop entree...right from the start.....
As the fuckin pie baked, it smelled like Smarty Jones took a piss in the oven....
We cautiously removed the stinking pie from the oven....sat there in it's putrid odor....
we then nibbled some toppings from the smoldering diameter of dough with what looked like encrusted shit on it....tasted like the family dog's droppings....
...we even gave the fuckin pie to the dogs after it cooled off....they want no part of it....we then cheered them on to lift a leg on whiz on it...no go....
Papa Fuckin Murphys.
SHIT-PIES
Damn straight! The last 4 times we ate their pizzas, all family members had diarrhea.
What do you expect, when you have a revolving door of high school kids running the place? Quality and Hygiene are "Stretch Goals" for them.
"PTD* at 425 degrees" should be their real motto.
* Pizza Transmitted Disease
Let me get this straight...every time you eat their pizza, you and your family all get diarreah...and you and your family have eaten there four times now? Is this some sort of a diet plan for you?
omg that was fvkin funny!
after 2 times did you not learn - some people are born stupid - clearly it is genetic
After the second time why in the heck did you go back?
life is hard, it is harder if you are stupid
"House of cards zone: No fans or air-movement devices beyond this point."
Hopefully whispering the truth from our little corner of the interwebz will turn into gail force winds.
Positive feedback loops.
It is possible.
Chazz Michael Michaels says "Mind-Bottling, isn't it?"
They raised $187 million? That's a lot of dough...... Hey, somebody had to say it.
Very punny. I don't usually risk the curse of the red dreaded red arrows but we had Papa Murphy's a couple days ago for a family event because it is my favorite pizza place. Very decent and very cheap. As far as the valuation of the IPO I'll defer to others but if the company needs an infusion of cash to turn profitable isn't that what the whole stock exchange thing is about. I know it's usually used as an alternative to the blackjack table or as a way for venture caapitalists to cash out but this seems like a legit role for the stock market to play. Of course nobady asked me.
We're finding it nearly impossible to find decent pizza so we make it ourselves. Papa Gino's used to be good in New England, for a chain, but I have no idea if they have stocks or IPO's.
Can't find a good pizza anywhere in California, having been spoiled in NYC and Connecticut.
In fact, by and large, CA cooking is rather poor by culinary standards.
I grew up in RI and there were lots of really good local pizza joints. MA too, especially Fall River. It's been so long I wonder if it's still the same or has it been watered down like most everything else. Everything seems to come out of Cisco bucket these days.
I never found anything good to eat when I lived in California. A couple of places had decent (but not great) hamburgers, but they put egg and avocado on everything. LOL.
Newport, RI, had a place called Mama Leone's, which had excellent pizza and calzones. I miss that pizza.
Now I live in Hawaii, where you can't even find a decent sandwich.
Perhaps you can't fine a decent sandwhich, but you do live in Hawaii so right there I quit feeling sorry for you.
Didnt you mean Costco bucket?
The last good pizza in CA was on Church st in SF. It burned down years ago though.
What many may not realize is that Papa Murphy's Pizza is not cooked.
You have to take it home and put it in the oven, or on the grill if you gots skilz!
This act of not cooking the pizza makes it an acceptable purchase......(wait for it).....for EBT.
Bullish.
Ah, that explains it. Long Papa Murphy's!
So what? It is food and you can't make your own from scratch for $9.00
$9 means you were so foolish you threw away the coupon for the good deals.
Just highlighting the fact its a form of fast/takeout food that can be purchased with EBT.
They opened one in town I lived in. Line was crazy long outside for first month. I then heard it is because they take EBT cards. Funny because my wife and I would make note of how dirty people looked who were standing in line. It all makes sense.
#WINNING!!
lulz
Ya wanna know why it surely sucks engorged donkey cock? 1400 locations and none in the northeast area of the United States. They can't crack the part of the country where 1/3 of the population lives.
Take note:
"management fees and related expenses,"
Now there's just what I want to do! Go out of my way to stop and buy a frozen pizza, that I'll then go home and cook myself.
I see a great future here, home delivery of half thawed "frozen" pizza that you tip the driver for and then cook it yourself!!!
Just had a Papa Murphy and watched Trouble With The Curve. Good Pizza. Good Movie. Just don't buy the stock. It is a fresh pizza bozo! Comment on something you know about. You know about stuff, I know, I've been listening.
Really? What do I sound like? ;-)
Go try one of their pizzas. Fresh. Take home. Bake. Eat. The price just went up. I probably won't be eating them much anymore. But, they are not frozen.
I know, you want to hear about YOU.
fvkin dumbass
Trouble With The Curve.
The movie has one star. I am DVRing it tonight on HBO because of your rec. I'll report back if this guy has any credibility.
They accept EBT for take out uncooked pizza
'nuf said nigga
ROTFL!
OMG, its true.
Does Papa Murphy's accept EBT — Electronic Benefits Transfer?Yes. Papa Murphy's gladly accepts EBT at nearly every store location. For details, contact your local Papa Murphy’s store.
http://www.papamurphys.com/faqs/
I need to just go ahead and slit my wrists now.
I saw it the other day at a variety store/gas station. It was not Papa Murphy's and the pizza was under a light bulb. There was a sign underneath put out by SNAP. The store couldn't sell it cooked but, the instruction sheet explained, one could buy it with SNAP frozen and hand it right back for heating LOL. This wasn't store policy but SNAP policy. At first I thought it was a joke but nope it's real.
Yep, cue the USDA wagging finger of shame: "SNAP is intended to help low-income families buy groceries to prepare healthy meals at home. While the retailer practice of selling uncooked pizzas and heating them onsite is technically permissible under current program rules, it is not a business model that USDA supports."
"to prepare healthy meals"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Omgosh that was HILARIOUS!!!
Someone forgot to give that memo to those that use SNAP cards, just call them what they are. FOOD STAMPS YOU MOOCHES
I'm looking for financing and franchisees for my new food concept-- The Soup Kitchen™.
And, yes, we accept EBT. In fact, that's all we accept.
OT but very good
Former USAID advisor “very proud” watching carnage in Odessahttp://pando.com/2014/05/03/former-usaid-advisor-very-proud-watching-car...
I’ve written before about the collaboration between the US Agency For International Development (USAID) and their billionaire American allies to help bring revolution to the Ukraine.
That shouldn’t be surprising, given USAID’s history of working with fascist killers, but it does still sicken.
The Twitter-orgy of Ukrainian nationalists gloating over the mass-deaths of pro-Russians in Odessa sickened a lot of journalists and observers I know and follow, most of whom are sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause.
Here are a few examples.....http://pando.com/2014/05/03/former-usaid-advisor-very-proud-watching-car...
ooh, upvoted!
love when others poke holes in the glorious hero-ick narratives, particularly the Omidyar/Greenwald hook-up.
because yah, billionaires funding newsy-leakage stories, and now Greenwald's gonna save it all up for a BOOK, omg - how blessed are the peoples, holding their collective breaths & credit cards. . .
whatever will be leaked next???
thank the gods Putin is sheltering the patriotic secret-sharer!
Yep then you got this little blurb that flew under the radar the other day.
Germany blocks #Snowden – why we advised #Snowden to take Russia. Not safe elsewhere: http://t.co/3U13BxOfbL donate: http://t.co/8gclJO08ey
WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 1, 2014
Goes against what they claimed the reason was for him seeking asylum in Russia in the first place was that he was forced to not advised to do so.
But then again no surprises here since even Assange on record speaking to other journalists had considered Russia as a place to seek asylum back in 2010. Also considering his ties to the Guardian no surprises Greenwald was the choosen mouthpiece.
http://www.amazon.com/WikiLeaks-Inside-Julian-Assanges-Secrecy/dp/B0057D...
With that said alot of the Snowden 'patriot' myth making once he got cornered in Hong Kong was a bunch of well scripted feel good kabuki theater which served it's purpose well enough but I highly doubt anything of real substance is going to be forthcoming from here on in except for a Greenwald book after it has been edited of any really juicy stuff. Russians clearly have the edge in the public relations department so far but it is easy to not like corruption you know and easy to sway public opinion against it when it is clearly trying to harm the same public it is claiming to represent.
And with that said that Greenwald's new boss' cozy relationship with the White House and all the back story here, something don't add up that he'd be allowed to join forces and in turn possibly negate whatever leverage Russia has with these leaks in the first place. You'd expect Greenwald to show up dead from drinking some Polonium tea unless they know what Russia has now so it no longer matters and hence part of the reason for them tip toeing in their responses to current situation(s). That along with Snowden pretty much disappearing from the spotlight except when serves some secondary purpose and lack of any new revelations, only shit we already knew to be true once the curtain was pulled back just enough to reveal enough of the modus operandi the tinfoil hat types had been saying was so from the get go could explained by this.
any story that is released episodically via mainstream'd newsy-networks is a scripted narrative designed for "entertainment" of the viewers.
in other words, it's a herd-dog on the flock. Greenwald? follow the money. . .
the HEROIC Snowden is a DEAD give-away.
Snowden's Secret
Bangin7GramRocks:Ya wanna know why it surely sucks engorged donkey cock? 1400 locations and none in the northeast area of the United States. They can't crack the part of the country where 1/3 of the population lives.
Well, another reason might be that pretty much in a 200 mile radius of NYC you can still get a decent NY style thin crust brick oven pie with "home made" crust and sauce and quality cheese.
Why on Gods green earth would anyone choose to buy a frozen pizza?
Papa Murphy is NOT frozen dumb shit Duc.
Ok, so I mis-read up top...its not frozen.
Whats the business case for selling uncooked, take out pizza when you get one already cooked? There is a local one that makes a helluva primavera...cooked.
I'd like a pizza with staphylococcus aureus, listeria monocytogenes, double clostridium botulinum, double salmonella and extra E. Coli O157:H7 on the side, please. Oh, and make sure the crust is doughy, still room temperature and undercooked, please. And hgimme a double helping of some past due unrefrigerated Caesar dressing, please
Don't forget the napkins.
All is forgiven. You can nail me next time. I screw up on a regular basis. Keeps me humble.
It's half the price of cooked. When it comes out of the oven you get to eat it hot. You're the deliveryman so it is by definition on time. You watch them make it so you know at least the assembly part is fresh. Who knows if they grated the cheese from a block this morning but I can get over that. They aren't the best pizzas I've ever had but they are consistantly good. Pick it up now you can cook it when you get home or wait a couple hours until your friends get there with the brews. Refrigerate it and you can cook it tomorrow. You do have to cook it (and wait the twenty minutes) but anyone smart enough to take the plastic wrap off before popping it in the oven and can set the oven timer can handle the cooking.
Uncooked. That discriminates against EBTs without ovens. Now we need Obomber ovens -Murph's lobbyists can write the bill. win, win, win!
Bro, you must love that fucking pizza (or have ownership stake) you are defending it pretty fucking hard.
It will be ok. Frozen. Not frozen. Either way, a real pizzaria cooks the pizza. If I wanted to cook it myself, I'd make it myself.
Same reason there are a billion Subways. And Subway is the most pathetic excuse for a sandwich I've ever seen. Soggy, old meat just staring, daring you to order that bitch!
The secret to Subway's suckassiness is their ability to make fresh baked bread taste stale right out of the oven. It truly is an amazing feat.
Murph's is actually pretty good stuff - made fresh (not frozen) and with fairly generous toppings. Biggest problem is that they have raised their prices a good $3-$4 over the past few years such that they compete with the already made pizza prices. Try 'em if you have not done so, but don't buy the stock.
I've got some investment ideas. Dishwashers safe colostomy bags. They really can save money. I figure Homeland Health Security Agency will eventually approve it, seeing as Homeland Heath Insurance Agency is paying.
Maybe get Papa Murphs tie in logo on them. And others. GEICO, GS, Depends, Walgreen's.....
Dishwasher safe DOUCHEBAGS might be a better sell for the fuckin douches in the gubbermint
OT: Google Chrome wins Derby!
"EbitdaEbitdaEbitda...THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!!"
Tried this cardboard take home and bake pie once. Tasted like shit.
....much like the stock must smell.
Make dough for pizza using instant yeast.=15 min.
1-2 hr. later roll/ shape dough and load. put in oven=10 min.
Fresh hot, best -you-ever-ate pizza for under a buck.
Ok, I'll admit it takes a bit of practice to toss a 16"-er.
Start smaller.
Save your EBT for beer, weed or a hooker. She'll appreciate the meal.
I make pizza this way for $5 and it's fresh and all organic. Breadmakers have a dough program, so it's very little work.
Who underwrote this and who were the big IPO investors? That is all you probably need to know why this turd IPO'd for as much as it did. Wait for the dump should be a warning noise of a toilet flushing beforehand. This thing is probably going to wind up being assimilated into some larger corporate parent or investment company that invested heavily in this turd to move money around without having to pay taxes on it.
Jefferies LLC, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated and Wells Fargo Securities acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.
I took my buttocks public last week. Made 7 million.
NO JOKE
"The Public Be Suckered"
http://patrick.net/forum/?p=1230886
Pizza IPO - outstanding.
Bagholders can order four toppings, but pay for three.
FAWK!!!!!!!!
If they increased the pizza price by 5 dollars, they'd be profitable.
Just wait for the idiots to rediscover the milkman route. Your icebox is empty, you need to purchase $250 or receive fine for failure to comply under Obama Care healthcare mandates.
Chappelle Show: The Niggar Family
We need an IPO on THIS pizza chain...NOW!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__0C1lxp1Q4
What's the price of their pizza? Here we get frozen 12"+ pizzas for $3.00 (in Walmart) and they're delicious!
Buy the FUCKING all time dumbest IPO in history. BTFATDIPOIH.
"I can somewhat understand the appeal of speculating on some unproven Internet company that loses money but promises to change the world. But a 33-year-old pizza chain? Come on."
You guys are really bickering over Twitter vs Amazon vs Pizza, and whether it's frozen or not?
Too much false money pecking away at the crumbs is very pathetic.
Pathetic is how we got here.
There is nowhere left to put money. That can't be good.
How could they be losing money?
They've raised prices to the point it's cheaper to get a cooked pizza.
Wait...think I answered my own question.
Ponzi Murphy
Notice how she started losing money soon as private-equity firm Lee Equity Partners LLC stepped into the picture.
Right now Wall Street could IPO Brown Turd Incorporated and generate millions.
I looked at photos of Papa Murphys pizza. It reminds of the Taco Bell. If it's anthing close to Papa Johns it's bad. Some people love Papa Johns. Just like some people love limburger cheese.
No thanks, I have seen dogs eat their own crap, they my like it but it's disgusting.
Dude, the American palette has been conditioned to think shit like McDonalds, Dominoes, Subway, etc. is tasty. It's fucking garbage, literally. Well. maybe not literally but I'm thinking about IPOing a concept stock where the business model is reconstituting landfill waste into food product. I figure I can get some of that Green Energy Monies, and feed the world on the cheap. Oh, wait...
Nice to see the food snobs out in force.
Nice Avatar.....America, fuck ya!
Will it be Green and claim to be Soy based?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IKVj4l5GU4
Tourettes
When I look at the shocking Russel 2000 P/E, me thinks the dotcom bubble made actually sense.
Well they do produce a tangible product, so there's that...
Just waiting for the category killer to emerge... Omaha's Best, Uncle Warren's Pork Pies!
Banzai - get on it~
If they only had an app it could have been worth billions.
20% discount in store for Italian bond holders.
It's better than the delivered pizzas around here but the last time I went the prices were very high.
"So assuming that's true, why can't it make money?" That's what the IPO is meant to fix!
Maybe with this infusion of cash they can buy some good pizza ovens and some tables and chairs for their customers.
The secret to a good pizza is the crust, and to get a good crust you have to have a good oven. Most home ovens do not get hot enough to get the crust right. It ends up being either too doughy or over done.
I just had a look on their website. Normally companies make their food look good on there just to entice people in. This stuff actually looks bad on the website though, so I can't imagine how crap it must actually be.
What is even more alarming though is that people consider $10+ to be "cheap" for a pizza. You can buy crap pizza like this in the UK for <£2.50 from most supermarkets. You can choose your toppings and they make it fresh infront of you. Now that is cheap, and it wont give you food poisoning. All hail the almighty american consumer though I guess.
The upscale regional supermarkets in the US, like Harris Teeter and Wegmans, have ready made "take and bake" pizzas too. They're about $6 and are much better than frozen pizza or any of the toxic chains.
The real gimmick for this chain appears to be EBT. Food stamp people don't usually shop at those stores, and I don't think the prepared foods are allowed anyway.
Allowing money losing corporations to print millions of dollars for board members and executives is what the stock market is all about. Selling shares has always been a scam, nothing different than selling pickle juice as a miracle tonic.
The poor family owned businesses that have to turn a real profit to make payroll are disappearing because of shit like this. If a business can lose millions yet get massive capital injections to continue operations, they can price out legitimate companies. In today's economy quality only goes so far vs price.
Like using junk bonds for a leveraged takeover. If you don't really have the money or the collateral, how are you buying a company?
The goal of finance is to figure out ways to create wealth where it doesn't really exist.
This might be a very lazy article.
I would be surprised if any venture-capital owned company would be able to show a profit after 'management fees'.
Maybe they are actually good guys and investing in expansion.
Even so, who would buy a gutted pizza company from financial 'suits'.
If you are at all tempted, start your own -you'll undercut them and also be able to use quality ingredients.
As P.T Barnum didn't say...."There's a sucker born every minute"
I only eat at Papa Barak's Pizza......The yeast and cheese are special. It's one of the few places you can get a Femunda Cheese Pizza.
When comes the nail shop IPO?
"No one saw this coming...."
I was actually on the deal team of a private equity firm that looked at buying Papa Murphy's around the time they sold to Lee. We walked away from it early after we discovered that a significant portion of the company's revenue comes from EBT (Food Stamps). They can get away with this because uncooked pizza actually qualifies as a "grocery item," not prepared food. I'm curious as to how much they divulge about this in their public filings, but it took a little digging through their private marketing materials to realize this.
So if you were ever looking for a derivative security for America's welfare system, this is as good a candidate as any.
By the way, the pizza sucks.
They may not make any money but neither does Amazon.
Jordan Belfort: I also gamble like a degenerate, I drink like a fish, I fuck hookers maybe five-six times a week. I have three different Federal agencies looking to indict me. Oh, yeah. And I love drugs.