Introduction and Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 23, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Introduction and Basis of Presentation

Introduction and Basis of Presentation

Denny’s Corporation, or Denny’s or the Company, is one of America’s largest full-service restaurant chains based on number of restaurants. At September 23, 2020, the Denny's brand consisted of 1,664 restaurants, 1,598 of which were franchised/licensed restaurants and 66 of which were company operated.

The global crisis resulting from the spread of coronavirus ("COVID-19") has had a substantial impact on our restaurant operations for the three quarters ended September 23, 2020, which is expected to continue with the timing of a recovery uncertain. During the three quarters ended September 23, 2020, many of our company and franchised and licensed restaurants were temporarily closed and most of the restaurants that remained open had limited operations. This has continued into the fourth quarter of 2020. Our operating results substantially depend upon the sales volumes, restaurant profitability, and financial stability of our company and franchised and licensed restaurants.

We cannot currently estimate the duration or future negative financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business; however, we expect that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impact our results of operations for the balance of 2020. Ongoing material adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for an extended period could negatively affect our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition and could impact our impairment assessments of accounts receivable, intangible assets, long-lived assets and goodwill.

Our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Therefore, certain information and notes normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted. In our opinion, all adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation of the interim periods presented have been included. Such adjustments are of a normal and recurring nature. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions; however, we believe that our estimates are reasonable.

These interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the fiscal year ended December 25, 2019 which are contained in our audited Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 25, 2019. Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior year amounts to conform to the current year presentation. The results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire fiscal year ending December 30, 2020. Our significant interim accounting policies include the recognition of advertising and marketing costs, generally in proportion to revenue, and the recognition of income taxes using an estimated annual effective rate.