Darden Restaurants sales disappoint as Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse miss expectations

Core Insights - Darden Restaurants reported weaker-than-expected sales, with Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse underperforming analysts' projections [1] - The company's shares fell nearly 1% in premarket trading following the earnings report [1] Financial Performance - Darden's fiscal third-quarter net income was $323.4 million, or $2.74 per share, an increase from $312.9 million, or $2.60 per share, a year earlier [1] - Excluding acquisition-related costs for Chuy's, Darden earned $2.80 per share [2] - Net sales increased by 6.2% to $3.16 billion, primarily driven by the addition of Chuy's restaurants [2] Analyst Expectations - Adjusted earnings per share were reported at $2.80, slightly above the expected $2.79 [3] - Revenue of $3.16 billion fell short of the expected $3.21 billion [3]