Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Releases FY 2027 Earnings Guidance

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) issued an update on its FY 2027 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 11.100-11.350 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 11.280. The company issued revenue guidance of -, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $13.7 billion.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.0%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $213.46 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $229.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $211.90 and a 200 day moving average of $204.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Argus boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Evercore lowered Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total value of $463,386.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,028.05. This represents a 34.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. This represents a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 over the last 90 days. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Darden Restaurants

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Darden reported fiscal 2027 first-quarter results, declared its quarterly dividend and reaffirmed its full-year outlook. The combination of ongoing profitability and shareholder returns provides reassurance ahead of the company’s broader fiscal-year performance. Darden Restaurants Reports Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its estimate for LongHorn’s first-quarter same-store sales growth to 6.5% from 4.2%, citing sustained market-share gains and stronger category trends. This suggests LongHorn remains a key growth engine for Darden. Darden sales momentum strengthens despite casual-dining slowdown
• Neutral Sentiment: Darden updated fiscal 2027 EPS guidance to $11.10–$11.35, compared with the $11.28 consensus estimate. The range broadly brackets expectations, but its $11.225 midpoint is slightly below consensus, limiting the upside surprise.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock had already been trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating relatively strong momentum but also leaving investors focused on whether the earnings report and outlook justify its valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts lowered their Olive Garden expectations amid a broader casual-dining slowdown. Since Olive Garden is a major Darden brand, weaker performance there could offset LongHorn’s market-share gains. Darden sales momentum strengthens despite casual-dining slowdown

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) is a full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It operates and franchises a portfolio of dining brands serving a range of cuisines, price points and occasions, with restaurants primarily located in the United States and select international markets.

Its restaurant portfolio includes Olive Garden, an Italian-American dining chain; LongHorn Steakhouse; Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen; Yard House; The Capital Grille; Seasons 52; Bahama Breeze; Eddie V’s; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Chuy’s.