Applebee’s Comparable Sales Fall 1.8% Ahead of Dine Brands Results
Key Facts
Dine Brands Global plans to report third-quarter 2026 results before the market opens on November 4, the company said, and will hold a call to discuss the results and business prospects at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. The announcement comes as the latest available company data show divergent trends at its two main brands: domestic comparable sales at Applebee’s fell 1.8% year over year in the second quarter, while IHOP’s rose 1.5%. The company said the investor call would accompany the results announcement, giving it an opportunity to provide performance details and discuss its business. Investors are awaiting the third-quarter figures on schedule, following mixed results from the two brands in the previous period. The company’s shares, which trade under the ticker DIN, closed at $35.31 in the November 3 session.
Second-quarter results point to different comparable-sales trends at the two brands. Applebee’s domestic comparable sales fell 1.8% from the same period a year earlier, while IHOP’s domestic comparable sales increased 1.5%. Chief Executive John Peyton said consumers remained focused on affordability and value. He added that IHOP outperformed the sector in sales and customer traffic for a third consecutive quarter through the second quarter of 2026. These indicators put the performance of both brands in focus ahead of the new results.
Dine Brands’ second-quarter revenue was about $240.9 million, compared with $230.8 million in the same period of 2025. The company attributed the increase mainly to higher sales at company-owned restaurants following the acquisition of restaurants from franchisees. But higher revenue coincided with a decline in net income available to common shareholders to $4.2 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, from $13.2 million and $0.89 per share a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share also fell to $1.16 from $1.17 in the second quarter of 2025. General and administrative expenses rose to $55.6 million from $50.8 million, which the company linked to employee costs and investment in company-owned and dual-branded restaurants, as well as reorganization and acquisition costs.
The prior-year comparison shows a profitability challenge that preceded the second-quarter results. In the third quarter of 2025, net income available to common shareholders was $7.0 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, compared with $18.5 million and $1.24 per share in the third quarter of 2024. Dine Brands attributed the decline to lower segment profit and higher general and administrative expenses. On an adjusted basis, net income available to common shareholders fell to $10.5 million, and earnings per share declined to $0.73, from $21.4 million and $1.44 per share in the year-earlier period. The company also said lower segment profit and higher general and administrative expenses contributed to the decline.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell to $49.0 million in the third quarter of 2025 from $61.9 million in the same period of 2024. The company said the results reflected higher general expenses and investment in company-owned restaurants, as well as temporary closures for renovations and conversions to dual-branded restaurants. In its franchise business, Applebee’s and IHOP opened a combined 17 restaurants and closed 12 in the third quarter of 2025. In the first nine months of that year, revenue rose to $661.7 million from $607.5 million, driven mainly by sales at company-owned restaurants following the acquisition of 59 Applebee’s restaurants and 10 IHOP restaurants. This was partly offset by lower franchise and rental revenue, while adjusted earnings per share for the period fell to $2.94 from $4.48, with the company attributing the decline mainly to lower segment profit.