Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Updates FY 2027 Earnings Guidance

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) issued an update on its FY 2027 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of 11.100-11.350 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 11.280. The company issued revenue guidance of -, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $13.7 billion.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Evercore lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.86.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $213.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $229.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.73.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,864.65. This represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $1,780,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,799,490. The trade was a 49.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Darden reported fiscal 2027 first-quarter results, declared its quarterly dividend and reaffirmed its full-year outlook. The combination of ongoing profitability and shareholder returns provides reassurance ahead of the company’s broader fiscal-year performance. Darden Restaurants Reports Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its estimate for LongHorn’s first-quarter same-store sales growth to 6.5% from 4.2%, citing sustained market-share gains and stronger category trends. This suggests LongHorn remains a key growth engine for Darden. Darden sales momentum strengthens despite casual-dining slowdown
• Neutral Sentiment: Darden updated fiscal 2027 EPS guidance to $11.10–$11.35, compared with the $11.28 consensus estimate. The range broadly brackets expectations, but its $11.225 midpoint is slightly below consensus, limiting the upside surprise.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock had already been trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating relatively strong momentum but also leaving investors focused on whether the earnings report and outlook justify its valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts lowered their Olive Garden expectations amid a broader casual-dining slowdown. Since Olive Garden is a major Darden brand, weaker performance there could offset LongHorn’s market-share gains. Darden sales momentum strengthens despite casual-dining slowdown

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) is a full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It operates and franchises a portfolio of dining brands serving a range of cuisines, price points and occasions, with restaurants primarily located in the United States and select international markets.

Its restaurant portfolio includes Olive Garden, an Italian-American dining chain; LongHorn Steakhouse; Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen; Yard House; The Capital Grille; Seasons 52; Bahama Breeze; Eddie V’s; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Chuy’s.