IHOP 2010 Annual Report Download - page 19

PART I
Item 1. Business
Company Overview
The Company was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in 1976 with the name
IHOP Corp. Effective June 2, 2008, the name of the Company was changed to DineEquity, Inc. (the
‘‘Company,’’ ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘our’’ or ‘‘us’’). Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
(‘‘NYSE’’) and trades under the ticker symbol ‘‘DIN.’’ Our principal executive offices are located at
450 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California 91203-2306 and our telephone number is
[phone]. Our internet address is www.dineequity.com.
Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K,
amendments to those reports and other filings with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the
‘‘SEC’’) are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such
reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. The information contained on our
website is not incorporated into this annual report. Further, the SEC maintains an internet site that
contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding our filings at
www.sec.gov. In addition, the public may read and copy the materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s
Public Reference Room at 100 F. Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information regarding the
operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC.
We have a 52/53 week fiscal year that ends on the Sunday nearest to December 31 of each year.
For convenience, we refer to all fiscal years as ending on December 31 and all fiscal quarters as ending
on March 31, June 30 and September 30 of the respective fiscal year. There were 52 weeks in our 2010
fiscal year, which ended on January 2, 2011; there were 53 weeks in our 2009 fiscal year, which ended
on January 3, 2010; and there were 52 weeks in our 2008 fiscal year, which ended on December 28,
2008.
Background
The first International House of Pancakes (‘‘IHOP’’) restaurant opened in 1958 in Toluca Lake,
California. Since that time, the Company or its predecessors have engaged in the development,
operation and franchising of IHOP restaurants. In November 2007, we completed the acquisition of
Applebee’s International, Inc. (‘‘Applebee’s’’). We currently own, operate and franchise two restaurant
concepts in the casual dining and family dining categories: Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar
and IHOP. References herein to Applebee’s and IHOP restaurants are to these two restaurant
concepts, and, unless the context reflects otherwise, whether operated by franchisees, area licensees or
the Company. Retail sales at restaurants that are operated by franchisees and area licensees are not
attributable to the Company. Unless the context reflects otherwise, franchisees and area licensees are
referred to collectively as franchisees and restaurants operated by them are referred to collectively as
franchise restaurants. Based on our combined total of over 3,500 franchised or company-operated
restaurants combined, we believe we are the largest full-service restaurant company in the world.
This report should be read in conjunction with the cautionary statements on page 30 under
‘‘Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.—
Forward Looking Statements.’’
Financial Information about Industry Segments
We identify our segments based on the organizational units used by management to monitor
performance and make operating decisions. Our segments, unchanged from prior years, are as follows:
franchise operations, company restaurant operations, rental operations and financing operations. Within
each segment, as applicable, we operate two distinct restaurant concepts: Applebee’s and IHOP.
3