Why Darden Is Thursday’s Big Earnings Winner
Darden Restaurants released its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday.
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Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) released its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The company said that it had $1.39 in earnings per share (EPS) and $2.13 in revenue, versus consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $1.35 in EPS on revenue of $2.13 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $1.18 and $1.93 billion in revenue.
For the quarter, blended same-restaurant sales from Darden’s legacy brands increased 2.2%. This consisted of same-store sales increases of:
- Olive Garden, 2.4%
- LongHorn Steakhouse, 2.4%
- Capital Grille, 2.6%
- Eddie V’s, 3.6%
- Yard House, 1.4%
- Seasons 52, 0.4%
- Bahama Breeze, 0.6%.
In terms of its segments, the company reported its fourth-quarter results as follows:
- Olive Garden sales grew 4.0% year over year to $1.07 billion, with a net income of $226.3 million.
- LongHorn Steakhouse sales increased 4.9% to $458.2 million, with a net income of 87.1 million.
- Fine Dining revenues increased 5.9% to $147.3 million, with a net income of $30.4 million.
- Other Business revenues increased 38.9% to $460.7 million, with a net income of $72.5 million.
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Looking ahead to the 2019 fiscal full year, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $5.40 to $5.56 and total sales growth of 4.0% to 5.0%, with same-restaurant sales growth of 1.0% to 2.0%. The consensus estimates call for $4.78 in EPS and $8.07 billion in revenue for the year.
CEO Gene Lee commented:
Our solid fourth quarter results concluded another strong year of performance as we executed our back-to-basics operating philosophy and strengthened our competitive advantages. Our strategy remains unchanged, and our operators’ consistent focus on being brilliant with the basics has allowed us to continue building guest loyalty while taking market share.
Shares of Darden were last seen up about 11% at $103.74, with a consensus analyst price target of $101.19 and a 52-week range of $76.27 to $104.74.
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Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
