Papa John's is blaming NFL protests, not the taste of its pizza, for lackluster sales.
On Tuesday afternoon, the company released its third-quarter financial report, which revealed that sales rose just 1 percent at locations in North American, below expectations; at the same time a year ago, sales were up 5.5 percent. Shares dropped 11 percent on Wednesday, and CEO and founder John Schnatter, who owns about 25 percent of Papa John's, lost $70 million; Forbes estimates he's now worth $801 million.
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