Applebee’s Outperforms 2019 Sales, While IHOP Lags

Dine Brands, the parent company of Applebee’s and IHOP, released its second-quarter financial report, which showed sales for Applebee’s have outperformed corresponding sales from 2019, though sales at IHOP still lag.

For Applebee’s, sales in the second quarter were up 10.5%, relative to the second quarter of 2019, while IHOP’s sales were down 3.4% for the same period.

Relative to the second quarter of 2020, sales for both brands were up significantly. Applebee’s sales were up 102.2%, while IHOP’s were up 120.1%.

“Both Applebee’s and IHOP continue to make meaningful progress in a challenging environment. Relative to 2019, Applebee’s posted its best quarterly comp sales performance in over a decade. IHOP’s second-quarter comp sales improved markedly relative to 2019,” says John Peyton, CEO of Dine Brands Global, in a press release.

Off-premise sales for both brands also continue to grow. Relative to the second quarter of 2020, off-premise sales for Applebee’s were up 8% in the second quarter of 2021, with IHOP’s up 6.3%. Off-premise sales for Applebee’s accounted for 30.3% of sales for the second quarter of 2021; IHOP’s off-premise sales for the second quarter accounted for 26.1% of sales.

Currently, 99% of Dine Brands’ restaurants are open, and the company reported that 10 new restaurants were opened by franchisees during the second quarter. The company operates approximately 3,440 restaurants in 16 countries.