Q1 2026 Darden Restaurants Inc Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Darden Restaurants Inc (DRI) reported strong same-restaurant sales and earnings growth that exceeded expectations.
- Olive Garden's same-restaurant sales grew by 5.9%, driven by new menu items and first-party delivery, which attracted younger, more affluent guests.
- LongHorn Steakhouse achieved a 5.5% increase in same-restaurant sales, maintaining its top ranking for food quality, service, atmosphere, and value.
- The company successfully refranchised eight Olive Garden locations in Canada and plans to open 30 more over the next 10 years.
- Darden Restaurants Inc (DRI) returned $358 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in the first quarter.
- The Fine Dining segment experienced slightly negative same-restaurant sales, indicating challenges in this category.
- Higher-than-expected beef costs and seafood tariffs are contributing to increased commodity inflation, impacting margins.
- Labor expenses were unfavorable due to higher performance-based compensation and a higher 401(k) match.
- The company anticipates the lowest year-over-year EPS growth in the second quarter due to increased beef costs and a measured pricing approach.
- There is uncertainty regarding the sustainability of current high beef prices, which could affect future pricing strategies.
Greetings, and welcome to the Darden fiscal year 2026 first quarter earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) This conference is being recorded. If you have any objections, please disconnect at this time. I'll now turn the call over to Ms. Courtney Aquilla. Thank you. You may begin.
Thank you, Kevin. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for participating on today's call. Joining me are Rick Cardenas, Darden's President and CEO; and Raj Vennam, CFO. As a reminder, comments made during this call will include forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections. Those risks are described in the company's press release, which was distributed this morning, and in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
We are simultaneously
| Access to All Earning Calls and Stock Analysis | |
| 30-Year Financial on one screen | |
| All-in-one Stock Screener with unlimited filters | |
| Customizable Stock Dashboard | |
| Real Time Insider Trading Transactions | |
| 8,000+ Institutional investors’ 13F holdings | |
| Powerful Excel Add-in and Google sheets Add-on | |
| All data downloadable | |
| Quick customer support | |
| And much more... |
Trustpilot
We'd love to learn more about your experiences on GuruFocus.com and how we can improve!
Take Survey
