Darden Restaurants Q2 Results

Investing.com — Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) experienced a share price increase of over 9% in premarket trading on Thursday following its fiscal Q2 results, which slightly exceeded analyst expectations.

The company reported quarterly adjusted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations of $2.03, just above the consensus estimate of $2.02.

Sales totaled $2.89 billion, marking a 6% year-over-year increase and slightly surpassing the forecast of $2.87 billion.

Comparable sales rose 2.4%, outperforming expectations of a 1.45% increase but falling short of last year's 2.8% growth.

Operating income reached $292.1 million, a 4.9% increase year-over-year, although it was below analysts' projections of $315.7 million.

Darden President & CEO Rick Cardenas commented, "We had a strong quarter and I am pleased that our four largest brands – Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, and Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen – generated positive same-restaurant sales. Our three out of four business segments also performed well."

He added, "I continue to believe in the power of our strategy and our brands' ability to compete effectively regardless of the environment. Each of our brand leadership teams are focused on the long term and are committed to executing at the highest level."

For guidance, Darden expects full-year EPS of $9.40 to $9.60, with the midpoint exceeding analyst estimates of $9.42. Annual revenue is anticipated to reach $12.1 billion, also above the $11.94 billion estimated by analysts.