Krispy Kreme announced earnings on Thursday, May 7, coinciding with the launch of its newest limited-time offering. It’s a pivotal time for the doughnut brand, which saw its stock price free-fall in early 2025 after poor earnings and shifting customer trends.
Krispy Kreme operated 235 of its signature stores in the U.S. at the end of 2025, with an additional 113 stores owned by franchisees, and another 52 internationally. The company also sells its freshly delivered doughnuts across over 13,000 locations, including grocery stores and other retail outlets. Oh, and it also has over 1,700 smaller locations, such as kiosks, which are primarily operated by franchisees.
Needless to say, Krispy Kreme has built quite a following.
Still, despite the comparatively enormous number of places to buy its donuts, actual sales at those locations haven’t been great; the company ended a key partnership with McDonald’s last year after the prospect of buying Krispy Kreme doughnuts at the fast-food chain failed to resonate with consumers.
Originally, the plan was to have Krispy Kreme doughnuts available nationwide at McDonald’s locations by the end of 2026; instead, the partnership came to a close, and approximately 2,400 locations stopped carrying the doughnuts. Not including those closures, Krispy Kreme also stopped stocking its products at 1,400 other locations, though the company notes that it also added 1,100 profitable locations.
Krispy Kreme goes global, doubles down on Hot Light Theater Shops
While many of Krispy Kreme’s delivery locations are struggling, the company’s flagship locations — which it calls Hot Light Theater Shops — remain a key part of its strategy and marketing, and it is taking a measured approach to expanding them.
During an earnings call, CEO Josh Charlesworth bragged about the successful launch of just two locations, one in Madrid, Spain, and the other in Minneapolis.
“While Minneapolis demonstrates the strong returns we can generate from strategic new locations,” said Charlesworth, “our broader U.S. strategy is to moderate company hub development and prioritize leveraging existing capacity to drive growth more efficiently.” He said the company expects to see sales of around $10 million in its first year.
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A big part of bringing consumers to its stores is the unique offerings available in its flagship locations.
You might be able to get your hands on some of Krispy Kreme’s specialty doughnuts at your local grocery store, but the easiest way to be sure you get your hands on the company’s full range of seasonal doughnuts is to go to a Krispy Kreme location to get them — or order them through the Krispy Kreme app, which Charlesworth says saw 15% year-over-year growth in 2025.
Krispy Kreme’s Mother’s Day box is only available this weekend
Krispy Kreme’s limited-time offerings are key to its strategy.
On Thursday, May 7, Krispy Kreme launches its newest limited-time release, a Mother’s Day box of 16 mini doughnuts in four flavors — its classic glazed doughnuts, chocolate iced doughnuts with sprinkles, and two new offerings, including a strawberry-flavored doughnut and a glazed doughnut with vanilla icing and a heart drawn on top.
The boxes of 16 doughnuts will be available through Sunday, May 10, and the company says that smaller 8-pack boxes will be available at select grocery stores. Krispy Kreme has a year-round calendar of seasonal releases, and the company says offerings like the Mother’s Day box are crucial to its strategy. “Our affordable offerings are designed to be gifted and shared, bringing people together for celebrations and meaningful occasions,” says Charlesworth.
Krispy Kreme’s earnings on May 7, the same day the new release comes out, suggest it needs these limited-time deals to work. First quarter non-GAAP earnings per share, or EPS, showed it lost 5 cents, 3 cents worse than analysts expected. The company lost nearly $516 million in 2025, following a modest profit in 2024. First quarter net revenue fell 2.2% year over year to $367 million.
For now, the company believes that focusing on special, limited-time offerings is key to building long-term success.
Related: Krispy Kreme returns fan favorite collection with new additions
