Darden Restaurants (DRI) Q1 2026 earnings

Darden Restaurants on Thursday reported mixed quarterly results, as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse helped offset weakness in its fine-dining business.

The company also raised its full-year forecast for revenue growth, although it only reiterated its projections for its earnings. Shares of the company fell 6% in premarket trading.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $1.97 adjusted vs. $2 expected
• Revenue: $3.04 billion, in line with expectations

Darden reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $257.8 million, or $2.19 per share, up from $207.2 million, or $1.74 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding gains related to the sale of its Canadian Olive Garden restaurants, costs from restaurant closures and other items, the company earned $1.97 per share.

Net sales climbed 10.4% to $3.04 billion, lifted by the company’s acquisition of Chuy’s Tex Mex restaurants that was completed last October.

Darden’s same-store sales rose 4.7% in the quarter. The metric, which tracks results for stores open at least a year, does not include Chuy’s restaurants yet. It also does not include its Bahama Breeze locations, because the company expects to divest the chain before the end of the fiscal year.

Olive Garden, the gem of Darden’s portfolio, reported same-store sales growth of 5.9%. The Italian-inspired chain accounts for more than 40% of the company’s overall revenue.

LongHorn Steakhouse saw its same-store sales increase 5.5% in the quarter.

The company’s other business segment, which includes Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen and Yard House, reported same-store sales growth of 3.3%.

Even Darden’s fine-dining business, which has struggled in recent quarters, reported same-store sales declines of just 0.2%. Wall Street was projecting a steeper same-store sales decrease of 0.9%.

For fiscal 2026, Darden is projecting revenue growth of 7.5% to 8.5%, up from its prior forecast of 7% to 8% growth. The company reiterated its forecast for adjusted earnings in a range of $10.50 to $10.70 per share.