Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) earnings for the Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse owner’s fiscal first quarter of 2021 have DRI stock heading higher Thursday. That’s due to its adjusted earnings per share of 56 cents beating out Wall Street’s estimate of 5 cents. However, its revenue of $1.53 billion is below analysts’ estimate of $1.56 billion.
Here’s what else is worth mentioning from the most recent Darden Restaurants earnings report.
- Adjusted per-share earnings are down 59.4% from $1.38 in the same period of the year prior.
- Revenue for the quarter comes in 28.4% lower than the $2.13 billion reported during the fiscal first quarter of 2020.
- Operating income of $56.6 million is a 71.9% decrease year-over-year from $201.5 million.
- The Darden Restaurants earnings report also has net income coming in at $36.1 million.
- That’s a 78.8% decline compared to the company’s net income of $170.6 million reported during the same time last year.
Gene Lee, CEO of Darden Restaurants, said this in the earnings report.
“The actions we continued to take in response to COVID-19, which include being laser-focused on execution and strengthening our business model, resulted in significantly improved first quarter performance that exceeded expectations. I’m incredibly proud of how our restaurant teams have adapted to our new operating environment and their ongoing dedication to safety and delivering exceptional guest experiences.”
Darden Restaurants also includes guidance for fiscal Q2 in its earnings report. That includes adjusted earnings per share of 65 cents to 75 cents. Wall Street is looking for adjusted EPS of 35 cents in the upcoming quarter.
DRI stock was up 8.6% as of Thursday afternoon.
On the date of publication, William White did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
