Darden Restaurants (DRI) Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) is anticipated to issue its Q3 2026 results before the market opens on Thursday, March 19th. Analysts expect Darden Restaurants to post earnings of $2.95 per share and revenue of $3.3342 billion for the quarter. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Parties are encouraged to explore the company’s upcoming Q3 2026 earning overview page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Darden Restaurants to post $10 EPS for the current fiscal year and $11 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.3%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $203.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.58. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 62.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total transaction of $1,450,448.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,644.80. This trade represents a 42.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. This trade represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,486,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,781 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $113,301,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,884,339 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $346,756,000 after buying an additional 563,237 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 239.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 722,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $157,490,000 after buying an additional 509,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 198.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 582,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $107,207,000 after buying an additional 387,130 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.