Company Overview - Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) has a market cap of $22.5 billion and operates over 1,700 locations in North America under brands like Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse [1][2] Stock Performance - Darden's shares have decreased 16.4% over the past three months, underperforming the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY), which increased by 14.7% in the same period [3] - Year-to-date, DRI stock is down slightly, while XLY has risen by 7.6% [4] - Over the past 52 weeks, Darden's shares gained 8.1%, compared to XLY's 22.5% return [4] Recent Financial Results - In Q1 2026, Darden reported adjusted EPS of $1.97, missing Wall Street estimates, while quarterly sales of $3.04 billion met forecasts [5] - Operating costs surged by 8.8% to $2.71 billion, influenced by higher ingredient and marketing expenses [5] - Management raised its annual sales growth outlook to 7.5% - 8.5%, but the midpoint fell slightly below analysts' expectations, affecting investor sentiment [5] Competitive Landscape - Rival Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) has outperformed DRI, with shares increasing by 11.5% over the past 52 weeks and 8.9% year-to-date [6] - Despite Darden's underperformance, analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating, with a mean price target of $234.64, indicating a potential upside of 26.2% from current levels [6]

Core Viewpoint - Darden Restaurants Inc experienced a significant decline in stock price following the release of disappointing first-quarter results, despite some positive performance indicators from its Olive Garden brand [1][2]. Group 1: Financial Performance - Darden Restaurants reported mixed first-quarter results, with same-store sales growth of 4.7%, surpassing the consensus estimate of 4.4% [3]. - Traffic at Olive Garden and LongHorn increased by 3.6% and 3.2%, respectively, both exceeding the industry traffic growth of 2.6% [4]. Group 2: Analyst Insights - TD Cowen noted that the stock decline was influenced by high expectations for Olive Garden and recent share price appreciation, despite Olive Garden outperforming expectations for the second consecutive quarter, with the outperformance gap narrowing to 90 basis points [2]. - BTIG highlighted that Darden's strategy of under-pricing competitors is attracting consumers but may negatively impact profitability in the short term [4]. Group 3: Stock Ratings and Price Targets - TD Cowen analyst Andrew Charles maintained a Hold rating and reduced the price target from $235 to $200 [5]. - BTIG analyst Peter Saleh reiterated a Buy rating while lowering the price target from $235 to $225 [5].

Core Insights - Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE:DRI) experienced a significant decline of 7.69% on Thursday, closing at $192.74, following a miss on analyst earnings estimates for Q1 of fiscal year 2026 [1][2] - The company reported earnings per share of $1.97, falling short of the expected $2.00 [1][2] Financial Performance - Net income for Darden Restaurants increased by 24% to $257.8 million, up from $207.2 million in the same period last year [2] - Sales rose by 10.4% to $3.04 billion, compared to $2.76 billion year-on-year, driven by a same-restaurant sales increase of 4.7% and contributions from the acquisition of 103 Chuy's Tex Mex restaurants and 22 net new restaurants [2] Management Commentary - The President and CEO of Darden Restaurants, Rick Cardenas, stated that the company had a strong start to the fiscal year, with same-restaurant sales and earnings growth exceeding expectations [3] - Cardenas emphasized that the strength of the results reflects the effectiveness of the company's strategy, which focuses on operational excellence and leveraging competitive advantages for long-term success [4]

Group 1 - Darden Restaurants reported first-quarter earnings of $1.97 per share, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $2.00 per share [1] - Quarterly sales were $3.004 billion, which also fell short of the analyst consensus estimate of $3.040 billion [1] - Darden's President & CEO Rick Cardenas noted a strong start to the fiscal year with same-restaurant sales and earnings growth exceeding expectations [1] Group 2 - Darden reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance at $10.50–$10.70, compared to the $10.68 consensus estimate [2] - The company raised its fiscal 2026 sales outlook to $12.983 billion–$13.104 billion from a previous range of $12.922 billion–$13.043 billion, against the $13.078 billion Street estimate [2] - Following the earnings announcement, Darden shares fell 7.7% to close at $192.74 [2] Group 3 - BTIG analyst Peter Saleh maintained a Buy rating on Darden but lowered the price target from $235 to $225 [7] - TD Cowen analyst Andrew M. Charles maintained a Hold rating and cut the price target from $235 to $200 [7] - Keybanc analyst Eric Gonzalez maintained an Overweight rating while lowering the price target from $240 to $225 [7]

Group 1 - Darden Restaurants reported first-quarter earnings of $1.97 per share, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $2.00 per share [1] - Quarterly sales were $3.004 billion, which also fell short of the analyst consensus estimate of $3.040 billion [1] - Darden's President & CEO Rick Cardenas noted a strong start to the fiscal year with same-restaurant sales and earnings growth exceeding expectations [1] Group 2 - Darden reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance at $10.50–$10.70, compared to the $10.68 consensus estimate [2] - The company raised its fiscal 2026 sales outlook to $12.983 billion–$13.104 billion from a previous range of $12.922 billion–$13.043 billion, against the $13.078 billion Street estimate [2] - Following the earnings announcement, Darden shares fell 7.7% to close at $192.74 [2] Group 3 - BTIG analyst Peter Saleh maintained a Buy rating on Darden but lowered the price target from $235 to $225 [7] - TD Cowen analyst Andrew M. Charles maintained a Hold rating and cut the price target from $235 to $200 [7] - Keybanc analyst Eric Gonzalez maintained an Overweight rating while lowering the price target from $240 to $225 [7]

All right, two minutes before we get to the final opening bell of the week. Let's get in a mad dash. >> What do you do with the best restaurant company.Uh, Olive Garden. Fantastic margins. They do have a long, you know, you know, this long run.It's not doing so much steak. >> Yeah. >> But I would tell you this thing went down hard on a miss.3% yield. It is still the flagship. I think it can come back.It can come back, but you have to have some dimmunition in food prices because there's certainly no there's ...

All right, two minutes before we get to the final opening bell of the week. Let's get in a mad dash. What do you do with the best restaurant company.Uh, Olive Garden. Fantastic margins. They do have a long, you know, you know, this long run.It's not doing so much steak. Yeah. But I would tell you this thing went down hard on a miss.3% yield. It is still the flagship. I think it can come back.It can come back, but you have to have some dimmunition in food prices because there's certainly no there's not a tra ...

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) is one of the stocks on Jim Cramer’s radar. As the company is set to report its fiscal 2026 first-quarter earnings on September 18, Cramer commented: “Thursday morning, we get results from Darden, parent of Olive Garden and a bunch of other restaurant chains. I wish I could just say go buy it, but the restaurant group has suddenly gotten real out of favor. Let’s do this. If you want a piece of the Olive Garden, its principal property, buy small ahead of the quarter, may ...

Darden Restaurants is seeing sales grow in the face of spiking food costs.By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions .Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.The company, which owns chains that include Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, posted qua ...

The Pioneer Of Seeking Alpha's BAD BEAT Investing, Quad 7 Capital is a team of 7 analysts with a wide range of experience sharing investment opportunities for nearly 12 years. They are best known for their February 2020 call to sell everything & go short, & have been on average 95% long 5% short since May 2020. The broader company has expertise in business, policy, economics, mathematics, game theory, & the sciences. They share both long & short trades & invest personally in equities they discuss within the ...