Welcome to Extreme Investor Network, where we bring you the latest updates on business news! Today, we’ll be diving into the mixed quarterly results reported by Darden Restaurants, the parent company of popular chains like Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, and Eddie V’s.
Darden Restaurants recently announced that Olive Garden’s same-store sales fell for the second consecutive quarter, reflecting a challenging consumer environment and increased competition from rivals. Despite this, Darden’s overall same-store sales remained flat, with LongHorn Steakhouse seeing a 4% rise in same-store sales, surpassing Olive Garden as the star performer in Darden’s portfolio.
CEO Rick Cardenas highlighted the company’s commitment to focusing on profitable sales growth, rather than engaging in heavy discounting to drive sales. Darden is forecasting same-store sales growth of 1% to 2% for fiscal 2025, with earnings per share in line with Wall Street’s expectations.
In addition, Darden reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income and net sales figures, as well as its outlook for fiscal 2025. The company anticipates total inflation of 3% and plans to raise prices by 2% to 3% in response. CFO Raj Vennam emphasized Darden’s commitment to keeping prices competitive while projecting improvements in traffic as the year progresses.
As we look ahead to the future, Darden remains focused on driving growth and delivering value to its shareholders. Stay tuned to Extreme Investor Network for more insights and analysis on the latest business news and trends in the market.