Darden Restaurants's Earnings: A Preview

Darden Restaurants DRI unveils its next round of earnings this Thursday, June 24. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for the earnings announcement.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, And Earnings Per Share?

Earnings and EPS are useful metrics of profitability. Total earnings also known as net income is equal to total revenue minus total expenses. Dividing net income by the total number of shares outstanding yields EPS.

Earnings And Revenue

Wall Street expects EPS of $1.79 and sales around $2.19 billion. In the same quarter last year, Darden Restaurants reported EPS of $1.24 on revenue of $1.27 billion.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

Wall Street analysts who study this company will publish analyst estimates of revenue and EPS. The averages of all analyst EPS and revenue estimates are called the "consensus estimates"; these consensus estimates can have a significant effect on a company's performance during an earnings release. When a company posts earnings or revenue above or below a consensus estimate, it has posted an "earnings surprise", which can really move a stock depending on the difference between actual and estimated values.

If the company were to report earnings in line when it publishes results Thursday, earnings would be up 244.35%. Revenue would be have grown 72.44% from the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants were trading at $135.6 as of June 22. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 81.84%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Darden Restaurants is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.