Forensic Analysis · Retail / Consumer Discretionary · as of Jun 28, 2026
Dine Brands Global, Inc. (DIN)
A forensic read on Dine Brands Global, Inc. built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
C · Mixed — selective
Forensic grade
Distress
Financial health
0.2
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
5
Forensic signals
28.9
P / E (ttm)
34.4%
ROE
$468M
Market cap
2.23%
Dividend yield
Dine Brands Global, Inc. earns a C (Mixed — selective) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is 0.2, placing it in the Distress zone. 5 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.
What the filings flag
1%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is 1% and slipping from 7% — well below its ~9% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
172% of FCFShareholder returns.Returned $92M to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 172% of free cash flow. More than free cash flow generated — and beyond operating cash too, so the extra is coming from debt or cash reserves, which isn't sustainable indefinitely.
$99MGoodwill impairments.Took $99M of goodwill writedowns across 2 year(s) (FY2020 ($92M), FY2024 ($7M)) — about 39% of net income over the span. A large writedown means an acquisition turned out worth far less than was paid — a real mark against M&A discipline.
2% of revStock-based comp load.Stock-based compensation ran 2% of revenue and 25% of free cash flow in FY2025 — about $0.92 per diluted share. Meaningful — reported free cash flow flatters the economics, since SBC is a real cost paid in shares.
-49%Dividend — cut.The payout was CUT ~49% in FY2020 (from FY2019). It still returns some cash, but it is NOT the dependable, rising dividend an unbroken streak implies — weigh the cut when judging reliability.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin1.9%
Free Cash Flow$53.4M
Latest Revenue$879.3M
Revenue Growth YoY+8.2%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on Dine Brands Global, Inc.:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about DIN's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown