An Olive Garden restaurant in Milpitas, California, United States on Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Darden Restaurants reported mixed quarterly results on Thursday as same-store sales growth at the company’s fine dining restaurants and Olive Garden fell short of expectations.
The company’s guidance for fiscal 2027 earnings and revenue also comes in at the lower end of Wall Street projections.
The company’s shares fell more than 1% in morning trading.
Here’s what the company reported for its fiscal fourth quarter ended May 31, compared to what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $3.66 adjusted vs. $3.63 expected
- Income: $3.72 billion versus $3.73 billion expected
Darden reported net income of $404.9 million, or $3.51 per share, compared with $303.8 million, or $2.58 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding restaurant closure costs and other items, the company earned $3.66 per share.
Net sales climbed 13.7% to $3.72 billion, boosted by the inclusion of an extra week in the fiscal year.
Across all Darden restaurants, same-store sales rose 4.6%, beating expectations for 4.1% growth according to StreetAccount estimates.
“Consumer spending remains pretty resilient overall,” Darden CEO Rick Cardenas said during the company’s earnings conference call. “Consumer sentiment is still a little cautious, but as we have said many times before, the decline in consumer confidence has not necessarily translated into reduced spending.”
He added that some of Darden’s casual dining brands have seen an increase in visits from all income groups, perhaps thanks to tax refunds. Traffic from consumers under 35, however, weakened slightly.
LongHorn Steakhouse led the portfolio with same-store sales growth of 9.5%, beating StreetAccount’s projections of 7.1%. The chain has overtaken Olive Garden to become Darden’s top performer, although it still represents a smaller share of the company’s overall sales.
The fourth quarter marked the annual return of LongHorn lamb chops. Darden executives said the chain bought more lamb than the previous year, but sold in half as much.
For its part, Olive Garden saw its same-store sales increase 2.4% during the quarter, missing expectations for 3.2% growth.
Darden’s fine dining segment reported same-store sales growth of 1.9%, below StreetAccount estimates of 3.1%. The division includes The Capital Grille and Ruth’s Chris.
The company’s “other businesses” segment saw same-store sales increase 4.6%, higher than the 3% expected by analysts. The division includes a handful of smaller restaurant chains, like Yard House and Chuy’s.
For the next fiscal year, Darden expects total revenue of between $13.60 billion and $13.75 billion and net earnings per share from continuing operations of between $11.10 and $11.35. Wall Street expects the company to report fiscal 2027 revenue of $13.72 billion and earnings per share of $11.40.
“We don’t anticipate any material changes in industry performance,” Raj Vennam, Darden’s chief financial officer, said on the call.
Darden also expects to report same-store sales growth of 2.5% to 3.5% for fiscal 2027 and open between 75 and 80 new locations. In addition, 11 of its Bahama Breeze restaurants will be transformed into locations for its other brands; Darden announced in February that it was ending the struggling Caribbean-inspired chain.