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what it is
Dine Brands owns Applebee’s, IHOP, and Fuzzy’s, then collects fees and restaurant sales from 3,458 locations.
how it gets paid
Last year Dine Brands Global made $879M in revenue.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 8.2% last year. Revenue rose 206% vs. prior year and EPS rose 296%.
what just happened
Revenue hit $662M and EPS came in well above expectations.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
5/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
9.3x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
16.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 29/100 — weak
What they do
Dine Brands owns Applebee’s, IHOP, and Fuzzy’s, then collects fees and restaurant sales from 3,458 locations.
The moat is the franchise model. Franchising → other people fund most kitchens and labor → so you collect fees with less capital tied up. Dine Brands supports 3,458 restaurants and still posts a 29.0% operating margin, which is high for a restaurant company.
How they make money
$879M
annual revenue · their business grew +8.2% last year
total revenue
$879M
+8.2%
The products that matter
family dining franchise
IHOP
1,788 locations
1,788 restaurants make IHOP one of the two pillars under the company's $879M revenue base. This is footprint first, detail second — the snapshot does not split brand revenue.
largest brand
casual dining franchise
Applebee's
1,560 locations
1,560 units give DIN national scale in casual dining. If franchise demand weakens here, the broad unit count stops helping and the debt load matters more.
co-core brand
smaller taco shop brand
Fuzzy's Taco Shop
110 locations
110 stores make Fuzzy's small next to the core brands. If DIN wants a fresh growth leg beyond the legacy chains, it has to come from something like this.
small growth bet
Key numbers
29.0%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so Dine turns nearly 29 cents of every sales dollar into operating profit.
$1.2B
long-term debt
That is more debt than the company’s roughly $550 million market cap, which tells you the balance sheet is the main plot twist.
9.3x
trailing p/e
P/E → stock price divided by earnings → so you are paying a single-digit multiple for a franchised restaurant operator.
$879M
annual revenue
Revenue grew 8.2% vs. prior year, which says the business is still expanding even while the customer gets pickier.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 35 / 100
- long-term debt $1.2B (69% of capital)
- net profit margin 11.3% — keeps 11 cents of every dollar in revenue
C++ — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in DIN 3 years ago → it's now worth $5,140.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $662M and EPS came in well above expectations.
Revenue rose 206% vs. prior year and EPS rose 296%. The jump was helped by purchased franchise locations, which makes the comparison look louder than the underlying demand story.
$662M
revenue
$1.90
eps
40.4%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The key number was the 67.82% earnings surprise, because DIN reported $1.46 against a $0.87 estimate and reminded you this stock can move hard on small expectation shifts.
-
dine brands’ applebee’s chain is working to ensure positive comparable-sales growth.
-
for 2025, the brand’s receipts surely increased, given the purchase of franchise locations.ahead, there may be some volatility at the top line, as these restaurants are refranchised, post refurbishments.
-
that said, management is aiming to keep the same-store sales trend positive.
-
core middle-income customers have become more cautious about discretionary spending and dining out.the chain is seeing more visits from high-income earners, as they too are tightening their budgets.
-
this was especially apparent during the recent holiday season.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
DIN's risk stack is specific, not theoretical: restaurant demand has to hold up while a $1.2B debt load sits on a company worth about $550M.
med
the debt load is bigger than the equity story
Long-term debt is $1.2B, or 69% of capital, against a market cap near $550M. That means equity holders are sitting under a lot of fixed claims.
If results soften, leverage does the amplifying for you. That is the main reason the stock still looks optically cheap.
med
the fee stream depends on franchise health staying intact
DIN collects fees from 1,788 IHOP locations and 1,560 Applebee's units. A slowdown in restaurant demand hits the royalty stream before investors get time to tell a nicer story.
Earnings predictability is only 5/100. In human-speak, the quarter is easier to miss than to model.
med
the market still leans skeptical
Institutions have been net sellers for two straight quarters, and the 3–5 year midpoint on this page is $31 versus a $35.30 stock price.
You do not need a collapse for the shares to struggle. You need skepticism to stick around.
You are getting a cheap stock because the balance sheet and customer base both come with real strings attached.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
balance sheet
debt versus equity value
$1.2B in long-term debt against a $550M market cap is the fastest way to explain why this stock feels cheap.
calendar
next earnings report
You want revenue holding above the recent $879M annual pace and no fresh damage to margins.
ownership
institutional flow
Two straight quarters of net selling matter more in a small cap than a megacap. Watch whether buyers finally outnumber sellers.
targets
analyst target drift
The midpoint sits at $31, below the stock. If targets do not move higher, valuation support stays thin.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
5 / 100
in human-speak, Wall Street has a hard time calling the quarter.
risk rank
4
Safer than about 20% of stocks. This is not a bunker stock.
price stability
35 / 100
The shares move around more than you want from a restaurant income name.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 2 consecutive quarters — 64 buyers vs. 83 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 11.4M shares. net selling for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$13
$48
$35
current price
$31
target midpoint · 12% from current · 3-5yr high: $70 (+100% · 20% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive