By Dean Seal
Shares of Denny's fell to a 12-year low after the company underperformed in the fourth quarter and warned of a slowdown in recent weeks.
The stock dropped 22% to a low of $5.22 in the first half of Wednesday's trading day. Shares were trading at $10.34 this time a year ago and haven't traded this low since early 2013.
The diner chain reported fourth-quarter sales ticking down to $114.7 million, just under analyst forecasts for $116 million, according to FactSet. Adjusted earnings of 14 cents a share missed estimates by a penny.
Executives said on a call with analysts that declining sales trends from January have accelerated in recent weeks, which they attributed to macroeconomic events.
"There's just a lot of uncertainty," Chief Financial Officer Robert Verostek said.
The shift in consumer sentiment is expected to be temporary but will impact first-quarter results, Verostek said. Denny's issued conservative guidance to account for the early softness.
The company is guiding for system-wide same-restaurant sales to either decline up to 2% or rise up to 1% this year. It expects to open 25 to 40 new locations and simultaneously close between 70 and 90.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 12, 2025 12:36 ET (17:36 GMT)
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