Dollar(US:DG) 智通财经网·2025-09-01 12:41Group 1 - The core viewpoint of the articles highlights that US-based Darden Restaurants (DG.US) has shown strong sales growth and rising profit margins, leading to Bank of America reaffirming its "Buy" rating with a target price of $135 [1] - Darden's adjusted earnings per share for Q2 were $1.86, exceeding Bank of America's expectation of $1.44 and the Wall Street consensus of $1.58 [1] - Same-store sales increased by 2.8%, surpassing Wall Street's expectation of 2.5%, while customer traffic grew by 1.5% compared to a decline of 0.3% in the previous quarter [1] Group 2 - Darden raised its fiscal year 2026 earnings per share guidance to $5.80 - $6.30 from the previous $5.20 - $5.80, and same-store sales growth guidance to 2.1 - 2.6% from 1.5 - 2.5% [2] - Bank of America also increased its fiscal year 2026 earnings per share forecast by $0.30 to $6.10, reflecting expectations of 2.5% same-store sales growth and continued gross margin expansion [2] - The company is advancing a trade-in program to enhance core customer spending frequency, which is expected to support Darden's outlook as middle-to-high-income consumers engage in trade-in transactions [2] Group 3 - The return-to-basics initiatives, including inventory reduction and product categorization optimization, are believed to be effective in supporting gross margin growth [3] - Darden has multiple catalysts for gross margin growth, such as strategic initiatives like the Darden Media Network and efforts to reduce waste and damage [3] - Revenue growth and market share enhancement are driven by store renovations, non-consumable growth, and ongoing digital and delivery expansion, including plans to launch same-day delivery services in 16,000 stores by year-end [3]