Darden Restaurants' Revenue Falls Short, But Analyst Highlights Operational Execution

Stephens analyst Joshua Long reiterated an Overweight rating on the shares of Darden Restaurants Inc DRI with a price target of $170.

Revenue dollars came in a touch below expectations, while margin and EPS results were ahead of expectations, highlighting the company's operational execution capabilities.

DRI reported second-quarter FY24 sales growth of 9.7% year-on-year to $2.727 billion, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $2.741 billion. The sales growth was driven by a blended same-restaurant sales increase of 2.8%.

The analyst checks suggest December trends are running in-line with current consensus expectations in the low single-digit percentage range. 

The analyst expects the rest of the casual segment could see some relief, given the strong results at OG and LH.

The lowered top end of revenue guide, reflecting tougher macro, was offset by a marginally better inflation outlook and steady unit development backdrop, says the analyst.

Price Action: DRI shares are trading lower by 0.55% at $162.19 on the last check Friday.

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