Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Surpasses Market Expectations

• Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $2.98, beating the estimated $2.96 and marking an improvement from the previous year.
• Revenue reached $3.27 billion, exceeding expectations and demonstrating significant growth from the previous year.
• Shares increased by over 2% in premarket trading following a positive earnings report and a net income of $303.8 million.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) is a prominent player in the restaurant industry, owning well-known brands like Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse. The company operates within the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry and has shown resilience in a competitive market. Darden's recent financial performance highlights its ability to exceed market expectations, as evidenced by its latest earnings report.

On June 20, 2025, Darden reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.98, surpassing the estimated $2.96. This marks a significant improvement from the $2.65 EPS reported in the same quarter last year. The earnings surprise for this quarter was 0.68%, as highlighted by Zacks. Despite surpassing consensus EPS estimates only once in the last four quarters, Darden's ability to exceed revenue expectations twice in the same period demonstrates its strong market position.

Darden's revenue for the quarter ending in May 2025 reached $3.27 billion, driven by the acquisition of 103 Chuy's restaurants and the addition of 25 new restaurants, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.18%. This represents growth from the $2.96 billion reported a year ago. Same-store sales grew by 4.6%, surpassing the StreetAccount estimate of 3.5%.

Following the positive earnings report, Darden's shares increased by over 2% in premarket trading. The company reported a fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $303.8 million, or $2.58 per share, aligning with the previous year's figures. However, when excluding costs associated with the acquisition of Chuy's Tex Mex, Darden's earnings rose to $2.98 per share for the quarter ending May 25.

Darden's financial metrics provide insight into its market valuation. The company's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is approximately 25.32, while its price-to-sales ratio stands at about 2.27. The enterprise value to sales ratio is around 2.76, and the enterprise value to operating cash flow ratio is approximately 19.48. Darden's earnings yield is about 3.95%, and its debt-to-equity ratio is approximately 2.76. The current ratio of about 0.39 indicates its ability to cover short-term liabilities with short-term assets.