Darden Restaurants, the parent company of casual dining restaurant chain Olive Garden, shared disappointing earnings for the first fiscal quarter of 2025 that saw the company miss on analysts’ estimates. However, its stock still got a healthy bump on the back of the company, keeping its full-year forecast intact.
Darden Restaurants reported $1.75 in adjusted earnings per share for Q1, coming below the expected $1.83 per share. Its revenue of $2.76 billion, which marked a 1% year-over-year increase, also didn’t clear the analysts’ threshold of $2.8 billion.
LongHorn Steakhouse was the best performer in the company’s portfolio, with the chain seeing a 3.7% jump in same-restaurant sales. On the other hand, Darden Restaurants’ fine dining segment was the most concerning, with a 6% fall in same-restaurant sales.
Still, Darden Restaurants remains optimistic about its ability to bounce back from a weak quarter. It retained projections of $9.40 to $9.60 in earnings per share and forecasted $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion in sales for the full year.
“While we fell short of our expectations for the first quarter, I firmly believe in the strength of our business,” CEO Rick Cardenas said in a statement. “I am confident in the actions all our brand teams are taking to address their guests’ needs, which do not compromise the long-term health of our business for short-term benefits.”
After the earnings became public, Darden Restaurants’ stock soared by 7.45% to $170.99 per share. Prior to the jump, the company’s shares were 1.93% down year-to-date.