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Darden (DRI) Q1 Earnings Report Preview: What To Look For

Restaurant company Darden (NYSE:DRI) will be announcing earnings results today before market hours. Here’s what you need to know.

Darden beat analysts’ revenue expectations by 1% last quarter, reporting revenues of $2.89 billion, up 6% year on year. It was a strong quarter for the company, with a solid beat of analysts’ same-store sales estimates and full-year revenue guidance slightly topping analysts’ expectations.

Is Darden a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free.

This quarter, analysts are expecting Darden’s revenue to grow 8% year on year to $3.21 billion, improving from the 6.8% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $2.79 per share.

Darden Total Revenue
Darden Total Revenue

Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings.

With Darden being the first among its peers to report earnings this season, we don’t have anywhere else to look to get a hint at how this quarter will unravel for restaurants stocks. However, the whole sector has faced a sell-off over the last month with stocks in Darden’s peer group down 12.5% on average. Darden is down 8.1% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $199.48 (compared to the current share price of $181).

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