Darden Restaurants Reports Mixed Quarterly Results, Shares Dip

Darden Restaurants on Thursday reported mixed quarterly results as same-store sales growth at the company's fine-dining restaurants and Olive Garden fell short of expectations.

The company's forecast for its fiscal 2027 earnings and revenue also came on the lower end of Wall Street's projections.

Shares of the company fell more than 1% in morning trading.

Here's what the company reported for its fiscal fourth quarter ended May 31 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: $3.66 adjusted vs. $3.63 expected

Revenue: $3.72 billion vs. $3.73 billion expected

Darden reported net income of $404.9 million, or $3.51 per share, up from $303.8 million, or $2.58 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding costs of restaurant closures and other items, the company earned $3.66 per share.

Net sales climbed 13.7% to $3.72 billion, boosted by the inclusion of an extra week during the fiscal year.

Across all of Darden's restaurants, same-store sales rose 4.6%, topping expectations of 4.1% growth based on StreetAccount estimates.

"Consumer spending remains pretty resilient overall," Darden CEO Rick Cardenas said on the company's earnings conference call. "The mood with consumers is still a little cautious, but as we've said a couple of times before, the weaker consumer sentiment hasn't necessarily translated into reduced spending."

He added that some of Darden's casual-dining brands saw an increase in visits from all income cohorts, perhaps lifted by tax refunds. Traffic from consumers under the age of 35 weakened slightly, however.

LongHorn Steakhouse led the portfolio with same-store sales growth of 9.5%, beating StreetAccount projections of 7.1%. The chain has overtaken Olive Garden to become Darden's top performer, although it still accounts for less of the company's overall sales.

The fourth quarter marked the annual return of LongHorn's lamb chops. Darden executives said the chain bought more lamb than the previous year, yet sold out in half the time.

For its part, Olive Garden saw same-store sales grow 2.4% in the quarter, missing expectations of 3.2% growth.

Darden's fine-dining segment reported same-store sales growth of 1.9%, falling short of StreetAccount estimates of 3.1%. The division includes The Capital Grille and Ruth's Chris.

The company's "other business" segment saw same-store sales rise 4.6%, higher than the 3% projected by analysts. The division includes a handful of smaller restaurant chains, like Yard House and Chuy's.

Looking ahead to the next fiscal year, Darden is projecting total sales of $13.60 billion to $13.75 billion and net earnings per share from continuing operations in a range of $11.10 to $11.35. Wall Street is expecting the company to report fiscal 2027 revenue of $13.72 billion and earnings per share of $11.40.

"We're not expecting any material change to industry performance," Darden CFO Raj Vennam said on the call.

Darden is also forecasting that it will report same-store sales growth of 2.5% to 3.5% for fiscal 2027 and open between 75 and 80 new locations. Moreover, 11 of its Bahama Breeze restaurants will be converted into locations for its other brands; Darden announced in February that it was winding down the struggling Caribbean-inspired chain.