Darden Restaurants, Inc.
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+ FollowMarket Cap$24.91B
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Earnings Call Q1 2027
September 24, 2026 - AI Summary
Q1 performance met expectations; sales + EPS up (good)
- Total Q1 sales: $3.2B, +5.1% YoY (driven by +3.2% comparable calendar same-restaurant sales and 53 net new restaurants).
- Diluted EPS (cont. ops): $2.05, +4.1% YoY.
- EBITDA: $464M.
- Restaurant-level EBITDA margin: 18.8%, flat YoY and consistent with plan.
Same-restaurant growth solid across segments; key headwinds were temporary (mixed but manageable)
- Industry benchmark (Black Box, excluding Darden): comps +2.4% sales, -0.2% guest counts on a comparable calendar basis.
- Company: positive comps in every segment.
- World Cup + lettuce concerns hurt early in Q1 and drove guest count softness at Olive Garden.
- Net effect disclosed: World Cup impact led to ~+180 bps at Yard House but ~-80 bps net to Darden same-restaurant sales, concentrated early; trends improved through the quarter and accelerated into September.
Olive Garden: value-led promotions + lunch opportunity; NEPB demand stronger than expected (surprising upside)
- Olive Garden same-restaurant sales: +1%; guest counts down ~150–200 bps from World Cup and lettuce concern; mix headwind ~50 bps from lighter portion section.
- Brand maintained strength; NEPB “Never-Ending Pasta Bowl” launched in Q2:
- Pasta Pass sale: 10,000 passes sold out immediately; ~3M devices logged in.
- Early quarter performance: “a little bit better than expected”; buy-ups higher than before.
- Added menu/toppings helped: Spicy Alfredo Sauce and Crispy Shrimp Fritta; protein buy-up pricing noted as unlimited proteins for $4.99 (pricing discipline).
- Lunch is a meaningful opportunity: longer-term traffic deterioration vs dinner; marketing support and a new lunch platform are being activated/tested in Q2 after being paused earlier post-COVID.
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Share Statistics
| Market cap | $24.91 Billion |
|---|---|
| Enterprise Value | $32.03 Billion |
| Annual dividend | $6.24 |
| Dividend yield | 2.83% |
| Earnings per Share | $10.46 |
| Beta | 0.62 |
| Outstanding Shares | 113,600,000 |
Return
| Return on Equity | 57.16% |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets | 8.94% |
| Return on Invested Capital | 17.81% |
Valuation & Multiples
| P/E Ratio | 21.38 |
|---|---|
| PEG | -225.85 |
| Price to Sales | 1.97 |
| Price to Book Ratio | 12.81 |
| Enterprise Value to Revenue | 2.4 |
| Enterprise Value to EBIT | 17.93 |
| Enterprise Value to Net Income | 27 |
| Total Debt to Enterprise | 0.23 |
| Debt to Equity | 3.55 |
Revenue Sources
No data
Last Earnings Call
Report Date
September 24, 2026
EPS Estimate
$2.05
Consensus analyst estimateRevenue Estimate
$3.21 B
Consensus analyst estimateNext Earnings Call
Expected Date
December 17, 2026
EPS Estimate
$2.28
Consensus analyst estimateRevenue Estimate
$3.27 B
Consensus analyst estimateInstitutional Put/Call Ratio
Compares institutional put options with call options. At 0.00, the ratio is below 1, so institutions hold more calls than puts.
| Put/Call Ratio | 0.0000▼ 112.03% |
|---|---|
| Total Calls | -▼ 100.00% |
| Total Puts | -▼ 100.00% |
Institutional Ownership
Holdings and activity of institutional investors.
| Ownership % | 4.29%▼ 97.51% |
|---|---|
| Total Invested | $886.74M▼ 96.30% |
| Investors Holding | 391▼ 731.00% |
About Darden Restaurants, Inc.
185 employees
CEO: Eugene Lee
Darden is a restaurant company featuring a portfolio of differentiated brands that include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V's.