Darden Restaurants, Inc.

Strong Q4 + full-year execution vs industry; profitable and resilient despite inflation - Q4 total sales $3.7B (+13.7% YoY); same-restaurant sales +4.6% with positive traffic; same-restaurant guest counts also exceeded industry by 300+ bps. - Adjusted diluted EPS +22.8% to $3.66 (includes $0.25 benefit from the extra fiscal week). - Full fiscal year: same-restaurant sales +4.5% (outperformed industry); total sales +9.4%, crossing $13B+ for the first time; Adjusted diluted EPS +11.4% to $10.64. - Negative/surprising: Restaurant-level EBITDA compressed 20 bps for the year due to elevated commodity costs and a deliberate choice not to fully price inflation, though earnings after tax stayed flat via sales/G&A leverage.

Margins: pricing discipline is working, but commodities still pressure - Q4 performance drivers: food & beverage flat (commodity inflation ~3% offset by pricing/mix), restaurant labor down 40 bps (productivity/sales leverage despite ~3.2% labor inflation), marketing 10 bps lower due to leverage. - Q4 restaurant-level EBITDA +50 bps to 22.1%; adjusted tax rate 12.8%. - Guidance assumes continued pricing ~in line with ~3% inflation rather than aggressive pass-through.

FY2027 outlook: moderate comp growth + growth in openings; EPS front-loaded softness - FY2027 forecast: total sales $13.6B–$13.75B - same-restaurant sales +2.5% to +3.5% (implies flat-to-positive traffic; check growth mid-to-high 2%). - 75–80 gross new openings plus 11 Bahama Breeze conversions. - Capex ~ $875M: - ~$25M for Bahama Breeze conversions, - ~$350M maintenance + IT, - ~$500M tied to new unit growth/pipeline build. - EBITDA $2.26B–$2.29B; EPS $11.10–$11.35. - EPS cadence expectation: Q1 low-to-mid single digit EPS growth; remaining quarters “balanced” on a 52-week basis—driven by highest expected commodities inflation (~4%) in Q1 plus some near-term one-time costs.