Darden Restaurants Stock Drops on Q1 Earnings Miss Despite Revenue Growth

Darden Restaurants (DRI) shares fell sharply in pre-market trading after reporting fiscal Q1 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.97 per share, narrowly missing analyst expectations of $2. The 12.6% year-over-year EPS growth from $1.75 failed to satisfy investors, triggering a 6.13% decline.

Revenue told a brighter story, hitting $3.04 billion exactly matching consensus estimates. This represents 10.1% growth from the prior year's $2.76 billion, driven by strong 4.7% same-store sales growth across brands. Olive Garden outperformed with 5.9% COMP growth while LongHorn Steakhouse delivered 5.5%.

The company's updated fiscal 2026 guidance suggests potential headwinds. With adjusted EPS projected between $10.50-$10.70 (midpoint $10.60), Darden appears poised to fall just short of Wall Street's $10.69 estimate. Despite today's pullback, shares remain up 14.3% YTD and 21.2% over twelve months.