Darden Restaurants Q2 Earnings Exceed Expectations

Darden Restaurants Inc DRI reported second-quarter FY23 sales growth of 9.4% year-on-year to $2.49 billion, beating the consensus of $2.42 billion. Same-restaurant sales for the quarter increased 7.3%.
Darden clocked an operating margin of 9.4%, and the operating income fell 3.9% Y/Y to $233.2 million.
EPS of $1.52 beat the consensus of $1.43.
Darden generated an operating cash flow of $635.6 million for six months. It held $240.7 million in cash and equivalents as of Nov. 27, 2022.
Darden's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.21 per share on the common stock, payable on Feb. 1, 2023, to shareholders of record on Jan. 10, 2023.
As of Q2-end, the company had approximately $811 million remaining under the current $1 billion repurchase authorization.
Guidance: Darden sees FY23 sales of $10.3 billion - $10.45 billion (prior view $10.2 billion - $10.4 billion) versus the consensus of $10.31 billion.
It expects FY23 EPS of $7.60-$8.00 (prior view $7.40-$8.00) versus the consensus of $7.71.
The restaurant chain expects same-restaurant sales growth of 5%-6.5% (previous view 4%-6%) with 55 to 60 new restaurant openings.
Also Read: Darden's Clear Visibility & Realistic Margin View Prompt This Analyst To Upgrade Stock & Hike Price Target By 19%
Price Action: DRI shares are trading lower by 0.43% at $142.25 in premarket on the last check Friday.
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