Key Highlights

  • Darden Restaurants shares are trading at $202.62 in pre-market activity, down 5.18% from Wednesday's close of $213.79.
  • Fiscal first-quarter adjusted Earnings Per Share of $2.05 narrowly missed the consensus estimate of $2.06, and Revenue of $3.20 billion fell just short of the $3.21 billion estimate.
  • Total sales still grew 5.1% year-over-year, with blended same-restaurant sales up 3.1% on a fiscal calendar basis.
  • The company reaffirmed its full fiscal 2027 guidance of $11.10 to $11.35 in Diluted Earnings per Share and maintained its $1.62 quarterly dividend.

Narrow Miss on Both Lines Overshadows Underlying Growth

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) shares are sliding pre-market after fiscal first-quarter results narrowly missed Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations came in at $2.05, just below the $2.06 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.20 billion fell slightly short of the $3.21 billion analysts had projected. The shortfall comes despite total sales growing 5.1% year-over-year and blended same-restaurant sales rising 3.1% on a fiscal calendar basis, with every reporting segment delivering positive same-restaurant sales for the quarter.

LongHorn Steakhouse Outperforms as Olive Garden Decelerates

Performance was uneven across the portfolio. LongHorn Steakhouse posted same-restaurant sales growth of 6.2% on a fiscal calendar basis, segment profit rising to $154.6 million from $134.9 million a year earlier. Olive Garden, the company's largest brand, decelerated to 1.1% same-restaurant sales growth, raising some investor concern about slowing momentum at the flagship chain even as its segment profit still improved modestly year-over-year. Darden is the world's largest full-service restaurant company, operating a portfolio of brands including Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, Ruth's Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Chuy's, Seasons 52 and Eddie V's across more than 2,200 company-owned and franchised locations.

Company Reaffirms Guidance and Continues Capital Return

Despite the quarterly miss, Darden reaffirmed all aspects of its full fiscal 2027 financial outlook, guiding to diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $11.10 to $11.35 for the year. The company also declared a quarterly cash Dividend of $1.62 per share and repurchased approximately 1.1 million shares for $222.3 million during the quarter, leaving $1.3 billion remaining under its current repurchase authorization. The pre-market pullback follows a stretch in which shares had rallied roughly 14% year-to-date heading into the print, suggesting today's decline reflects a reset in near-term expectations rather than a change in the company's longer-term outlook.