Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) is one of the tech and consumer sector stocks that Jim Cramer talked about. Cramer called it one of the “retail winners,” as he stated: “Retail’s such a huge portion of this economy, it can mask the questionable kinds of transactions we’ve been seeing at the highest level of tech. Consider the retail winners today. There’s Darden, that’s the owner of Olive Garden. It vaulted nearly 2%. Yes, the numbers from Olive Garden look great.” Olive Garden Darden Image: Courtes ...

With a market cap of $21.6 billion, Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) is a leading full-service restaurant company that owns and operates a diverse portfolio of well-known dining brands across the United States and Canada. The company includes popular concepts such as Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The Orlando, Florida-based company is expected to announce its fiscal Q2 2026 results before the market opens on Thursday, Dec. 18. Ahead of this event, analysts predict Darden R ...

Core Insights - Darden Restaurants, Inc. plans to release its fiscal 2026 second quarter financial results on December 18, 2025, before the market opens [1] - A conference call will follow at 8:30 am ET, where CEO Rick Cardenas and senior management will discuss the results and answer questions [1] Company Overview - Darden Restaurants operates a diverse portfolio of restaurant brands, including Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Ruth's Chris Steak House, among others [1]

Group 1 - Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) experienced a mixed quarterly report, with results that were not entirely negative but affected by inflation leading to margin pressure [1] - The stock price declined from 208 to below 185, which some analysts believe is unjustified given the company's efforts to attract customers despite higher-than-expected costs [1] - Darden operates several well-known restaurant brands, including Olive Garden, Ruth's Chris Steak House, and LongHorn Steakhouse, among others [2]

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 Insights - Darden Restaurants Inc reported earnings of $1.97 per share, missing expectations, while revenue of $3.04 billion met forecasts, leading to a 9.7% drop in shares to $188.61 [1] - The company experienced strong same-store sales growth across its portfolio but faced challenges in the fine dining segment due to rising costs [1] - Despite the current struggles, Darden raised its 2026 forecast, indicating confidence in a potential rebound [1] Stock Performance - If the current trend continues, the stock will log its fifth consecutive daily loss and the steepest post-earnings drop in at least nine quarters, reaching its lowest levels since April [2] - Year-to-date, the stock is up 1.3% and reached an all-time high in June, but is now relying on its 320-day moving average to prevent further losses [2] Analyst Sentiment - Analysts remain bullish, with 18 out of 29 brokerages maintaining a "buy" or better rating, while 11 have a "hold" rating [3] - Following the earnings report, there was a significant number of price-target adjustments, but the 12-month consensus price target stands at $232.94, indicating a substantial premium to current levels [3] Options Market Activity - In the options market, sentiment is leaning bearish, with 7,865 puts traded compared to 1,885 calls, and overall volume at 24 times the average intraday amount [4] - The most active contracts include the monthly September puts with strike prices of 200, 195, 190, and 185, with new positions being opened at the last [4]

Core Insights - Darden Restaurants, Inc. reported strong financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, with total sales increasing by 10.4% to $3.0 billion, driven by a same-restaurant sales increase of 4.7% and contributions from acquisitions [2][6][7]. Financial Performance - Consolidated sales for Q1 2026 were $3,044.7 million, compared to $2,757.0 million in Q1 2025, reflecting a growth of 10.4% [4]. - Same-restaurant sales growth was reported at 4.7%, with Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse showing increases of 5.9% and 5.5%, respectively [2][4]. - Adjusted diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations increased by 12.6% to $1.97, up from $1.75 in the prior year [7][19]. Segment Performance - Olive Garden generated sales of $1,301.1 million in Q1 2026, with a segment profit of $267.6 million, compared to $1,209.1 million and $250.1 million in Q1 2025 [4]. - LongHorn Steakhouse reported sales of $776.4 million and a segment profit of $134.9 million, up from $713.5 million and $128.4 million, respectively [4]. - The Fine Dining segment experienced a slight decline in profit, with a segment profit of $38.7 million compared to $38.9 million in the previous year [4]. Shareholder Returns - The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.50 per share, payable on November 3, 2025 [5]. - During the quarter, the company repurchased approximately 0.9 million shares for a total of $183 million, with $865 million remaining under the current $1 billion repurchase authorization [8][7]. Future Outlook - The company updated its full-year financial outlook for fiscal 2026, projecting total sales growth of 7.5% to 8.5%, including approximately 2% growth related to the addition of a 53rd week [14]. - Same-restaurant sales growth is expected to be between 2.5% to 3.5%, with plans to open approximately 65 new restaurants [14].

Group 1 - Darden Restaurants, Inc. plans to release its fiscal 2025 fourth quarter financial results on June 20, 2025, before the market opens [1] - A conference call will follow at 8:30 am ET, where CEO Rick Cardenas and senior management will discuss the results and conduct a Q&A session [1] - A replay of the conference call will be available shortly after the live broadcast for those unable to listen [1] Group 2 - Darden operates a diverse portfolio of restaurant brands, including Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Ruth's Chris Steak House, among others [2] - The company emphasizes its differentiated brands as a key aspect of its business strategy [2]