Darden Restaurants Inc. Reports Second Quarter Results

Overview

Darden Restaurants Inc.’s stock (DRI, +0.39%) experienced a 1.2% decrease in premarket trading following the release of its second quarter financial results. While the parent company of popular restaurant chains Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse slightly missed revenue estimates for the quarter, its profit showed a positive increase. Darden provided insights into its future performance, stating that it expects adjusted earnings of $8.75 to $8.90 per share for full-year 2024. This estimation deviates slightly from the FactSet consensus estimate of $8.82 per share.

Financial Highlights

Darden's second quarter profit rose to $212.1 million, or $1.76 per share, compared to $187.2 million, or $1.52 per share, in the same period last year. The company's adjusted second quarter earnings stood at $1.84 per share, surpassing the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.74 per share. Moreover, second quarter sales experienced a growth of 9.7% to just under $2.73 billion. Although this fell slightly short of the analyst estimate of $2.74 billion, Darden's Chief Executive Rick Cardenas expressed satisfaction with the company's ability to "outperform industry same-restaurant sales and traffic."

Future Projections

Darden projects sales of approximately $11.5 billion for the year 2024, slightly below the analyst estimate of $11.6 billion.

With the successful rise in profit and optimistic projections for the future, Darden Restaurants Inc. continues to solidify its position as a leader in the industry, maintaining its focus on growth and market share expansion.