Darden Restaurants is expected to report quarterly earnings of $2.06 per share, up 4.6% from a year ago, on revenues of $3.2 billion, a 5.3% year-over-year increase. The consensus EPS estimate has been revised down 0.2% over the past 30 days. Among the company's segments, analysts forecast Olive Garden sales of $1.35 billion, up 3.9%, LongHorn Steakhouse sales of $859.29 million, up 10.7%, Fine Dining sales of $302.67 million, up 5.6%, and Other Business sales of $684.66 million, up 0.6%. Same-restaurant sales are projected to rise 6.3% at LongHorn Steakhouse, 1.7% at Olive Garden, 2.7% for Other Business, and 3.1% on a consolidated basis. Analysts expect total company-owned restaurants of 2,214, including 954 Olive Garden locations, 624 LongHorn Steakhouse locations, and 83 Ruth's Chris Steak House locations. Darden shares have returned -5.6% over the past month, versus a -1.3% change for the Zacks S&P 500 composite, and carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Darden Restaurants IncDarden is the subject; article previews Q1 earnings of $2.06/share with revenue growth but a slightly lowered consensus estimate, a mixed earnings-preview signal.
