Denny's Releases Q4 & FY24 Preliminary Results: Here's What to Know

Financial Performance - Domestic system-wide same-restaurant sales for Keke's brand expected to be 3% compared to a 3.1% decline in the year-ago quarter [1] - Domestic franchise same-restaurant sales for Keke's brand expected to increase 4.1% year-over-year compared to a 3.8% decline [1] - Company's same-restaurant sales expected to decline 3.7% compared to 0.7% growth in the year-ago quarter [1] - Average unit sales value at company and franchised restaurants expected to be $404 million and$447 million, respectively, compared to $442 million and$432 million a year ago [1] - Adjusted EBITDA expected to be at the low end of guidance between $81 million and$84 million [2] - Domestic system-wide same-restaurant sales for Denny's brand expected to decline 0.2% compared to 3.6% growth in fiscal 2023 [8] - Domestic franchise same-restaurant sales for Denny's brand expected to decline 0.1% compared to 3.6% growth a year ago [8] - Company's same-restaurant sales for Denny's brand expected to decline 1.5% compared to 2.7% growth a year ago [8] - Average unit sales value at company and franchised restaurants for Denny's brand expected to be $3.09 billion and$1.88 billion, respectively, up from $3.07 billion and$1.84 billion a year ago [8] Unit Expansion and Remodeling - Total openings under Denny's and Keke's brands expected to be 14 and 12, respectively, by the end of fiscal 2024 [3] - Denny's expects to close 88 restaurants and complete 23 remodels under its Denny's Diner 2.0 remodel program, including seven company restaurants [3] - Keke's brand likely to expand into six new states during fiscal 2024 [3] - Denny's expects to open four franchised restaurants and close 30 during the fiscal fourth quarter [9] - Denny's Diner 2.0 remodel program expected to complete six remodeling projects during the quarter [9] - Keke's expected to open three company restaurants and five franchised restaurants, debuting in four states including California, Colorado, Nevada, and Texas [16] - Keke's expected to expand its first-ever remodel test program to two additional cafes [16] - Consolidated restaurant openings expected to be between 30 and 40, including 12-16 new Keke's restaurants, with a consolidated net decline of 45-55 [10] Stock Performance and Analyst Sentiment - DENN stock inched up 0.2% during trading hours but lost 2.1% in after-hours trading on Monday [6] - Shares of DENN have lost 13.2% in the past three months compared to the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry's 5.6% decline [17] - Zacks Consensus Estimate for DENN's fiscal 2025 EPS has remained unchanged at 58 cents over the past 60 days, indicating 11.5% growth from the year-ago quarter [18] - DENN's growth prospects are supported by a VGM Score of B, backed by a Value Score of A [18] Other Key Picks - The Gap, Inc. (GAP) currently sports a Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy) with a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 101.2% on average [11][12] - Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) presently sports a Zacks Rank of 1 with a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 25.9% on average [12] - Deckers Outdoor Corporation (DECK) currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1 with a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 41.1% on average [13]