Darden Restaurants on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected sales as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse underperformed analysts’ projections.
The restaurant company blamed weather for the sales slowdown and maintained its full-year forecast, lifting investors’ confidence that the rough quarter was a blip.
Darden shares rose 6% in morning trading.
Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $2.80Â adjusted vs. $2.79 expected
- Revenue: $3.16 billion vs. $3.21 billion expected
Darden reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $323.4 million, or $2.74 per share, up from $312.9 million, or $2.60 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding costs related to its acquisition of Chuy’s, Darden earned $2.80 per share.
Net sales rose 6.2% to $3.16 billion, fueled largely by the addition of Chuy’s restaurants to its portfolio.
Darden’s same-store sales rose 0.7%,…
