Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse boost Darden's outlook
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE:DRI), parent of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, on Tuesday reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $84.7 million.
The Orlando, Florida-based company said it had net income of 67 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted to account for discontinued operations and non-recurring costs, came to 73 cents per share.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DRI | DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC. | 166.58 | -0.20 | -0.12% |
The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 70 cents per share.
The owner of Olive Garden and other chain restaurants posted revenue of $1.88 billion in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.85 billion.
Darden Restaurants expects full-year earnings in the range of $4.45 to $4.53 per share.
Darden Restaurants shares have increased 25 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen 20 percent.