It’s no secret traders and investors supported tech companies in droves in 2021. So perhaps overlooked is a certain Louisville, Kentucky-based pizza chain that has delivered impressive returns over the past year. 

Since January 2021, Papa John's Int'l, Inc. PZZA stock’s 1-year return has outperformed several of the world’s most popular tech and consumer discretionary stocks: Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, Snap Inc SNAP, Plug Power Inc PLUG and Starbucks Corporation SBUX.

As of June 29, 2021, Papa John's operated 5,400 restaurants, which included 588 company-owned and 4,812 franchised in 48 countries and territories.  North American franchisees operate more than half the company's total restaurants and pay a 5% royalty on sales. The company was founded in 1984.

Here's how the returns break down from January 2021 to the present: 

• Plug Power is down from $53.97 to $24.96 for a return of -53.75%

• Snap is down from $54.31 to $41.36 for a return of -23.94%

• Starbucks is up from $104.60 to $107.57 for a return of 2.84%

• Amazon is up from $3,114.21 to $3,251.08 for a return of 4.40%

• And finally, Papa John’s is up from $93.33 a share to $127.67 for a return of 36.79%

Image by Igor Ovsyannykov from Pixabay