Darden Restaurants Shares Fall 3% as Revenue Miss Offsets In-Line Earnings

Core Viewpoint - Darden Restaurants, Inc. reported third-quarter results that met earnings expectations but fell short on revenue, resulting in a decline of over 3% in premarket trading Group 1: Financial Performance - Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter ended February 22 was $2.95, aligning with analyst consensus [1] - Revenue reached $3.3 billion, missing the estimate of $3.33 billion, but representing a 5.9% increase from the same period last year [1] Group 2: Revenue Growth Drivers - Revenue growth was driven by a 4.2% increase in same-restaurant sales and contributions from 31 net new restaurant openings [2] Group 3: Future Guidance - For fiscal 2026, the company provided earnings guidance of $10.57 to $10.67 per share, with a midpoint of $10.62 exceeding analyst consensus [2] - The company updated its full-year outlook, projecting total sales growth of approximately 9.5%, including about 2% from an additional week [4] - Same-restaurant sales are expected to grow approximately 4.5%, with plans to open around 70 new restaurants [4] - Capital expenditures are projected to range between $750 million and $775 million [4] Group 4: Segment Performance - LongHorn Steakhouse delivered the strongest performance with same-restaurant sales growth of 7.2%, followed by Olive Garden at 3.2% [3] - Fine Dining posted growth of 2.1%, while the Other Business segment increased by 3.9% [3]