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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DRI. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. 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 objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.86.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $213.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.73. The company has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $229.76.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.98 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 8,864 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $1,846,637.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 18,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,915,354.02. This trade represents a 32.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 86,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Darden Restaurants

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

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.