Driven Brands: A Rather Messy Situation

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Driven Brands [DRVN 36.24%], that collection of automotive establishments – MAACO, Meineke, Take 5, and the rather prosaically named Auto Glass Now – experienced a distinctly unpleasant morning. A tumble of 35%, you understand, before luncheon. The cause? A confession, of sorts, filed with the SEC. Apparently, their previously issued financial statements for the last two years are, shall we say, ‘optimistic’.

The errors range from a disconcerting vagueness regarding lease agreements to a misallocation of expenses – ‘supply and other,’ how terribly imprecise – and, most alarmingly, unreconciled cash accounts. One begins to wonder if they’ve simply lost the money. The whole affair arose whilst attempting to prepare their Q4 2025 report, which, naturally, is now delayed.

A Spot of Bother

In essence, Driven Brands admits its financial records for the past two years are unreliable and require correction. A restatement, you see. One rather wishes they’d sorted this out before attracting investors. They were scheduled to announce Q4 results today, but that, predictably, isn’t happening. A Form 12b-25 will be filed requesting a 15-day extension. Whether they’ll actually manage that remains, shall we say, doubtful.

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The Shareholders’ Predicament

Driven Brands, at present, is a bit of a fright. Sales are holding up, admittedly, but profits remain stubbornly elusive – three years, you know – and the debt is rather substantial, around $2.6 billion. One begins to suspect a pattern.

Analysts had optimistically predicted a turnaround in 2025, a return to profitability. A charming notion, but increasingly improbable. The prudent course of action, even after this rather dramatic drop, is undoubtedly disposal. Really, it’s the only sensible thing to do. One simply hasn’t the time to indulge in wishful thinking.

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2026-02-25 19:04