Darden Restaurants (DRI) Falls 7.7% on Missed Earnings Estimates

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]