3 Reasons to Avoid DIN and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

September 04, 2025 at 00:02 AM EDT

DIN Cover Image

Since March 2025, Dine Brands has been in a holding pattern, floating around $23.38. The stock also fell short of the S&P 500’s 11.6% gain during that period.

Is there a buying opportunity in Dine Brands, or does it present a risk to your portfolio? Dive into our full research report to see our analyst team’s opinion, it’s free.

Why Do We Think Dine Brands Will Underperform?

We're swiping left on Dine Brands for now. Here are three reasons we avoid DIN and a stock we'd rather own.

1. Shrinking Same-Store Sales Indicate Waning Demand

Same-store sales is a key performance indicator used to measure organic growth at restaurants open for at least a year.

Dine Brands’s demand has been shrinking over the last two years as its same-store sales have averaged 1.7% annual declines.

2. Shrinking Operating Margin

Operating margin is an important measure of profitability as it shows the portion of revenue left after accounting for all core expenses – everything from the cost of goods sold to advertising and wages. It’s also useful for comparing profitability across companies with different levels of debt and tax rates because it excludes interest and taxes.

Looking at the trend in its profitability, Dine Brands’s operating margin decreased by 4.6 percentage points over the last year. Even though its historical margin was healthy, shareholders will want to see Dine Brands become more profitable in the future. Its operating margin for the trailing 12 months was 19.1%.

Dine Brands Trailing 12-Month Operating Margin (GAAP)

3. High Debt Levels Increase Risk

As long-term investors, the risk we care about most is the permanent loss of capital, which can happen when a company goes bankrupt or raises money from a disadvantaged position. This is separate from short-term stock price volatility, something we are much less bothered by.

Dine Brands’s $1.64 billion of debt exceeds the $194.2 million of cash on its balance sheet. Furthermore, its 6× net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio (based on its EBITDA of $222.9 million over the last 12 months) shows the company is overleveraged.

At this level of debt, incremental borrowing becomes increasingly expensive and credit agencies could downgrade the company’s rating if profitability falls. Dine Brands could also be backed into a corner if the market turns unexpectedly – a situation we seek to avoid as investors in high-quality companies.

We hope Dine Brands can improve its balance sheet and remain cautious until it increases its profitability or pays down its debt.

Final Judgment

We see the value of companies helping consumers, but in the case of Dine Brands, we’re out. With its shares trailing the market in recent months, the stock trades at 4.7× forward P/E (or $23.38 per share). While this valuation is optically cheap, the potential downside is huge given its shaky fundamentals. There are better stocks to buy right now. Let us point you toward one of our top digital advertising picks.

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