OIive Garden parent’s same-store sales near pre-pandemic levels as Covid restrictions ease
A take-out order from a Darden Restaurants Inc. Olive Garden location is arranged for a photograph in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Darden Restaurants on Thursday reported that its fiscal fourth quarter same-store sales nearly returned to 2019 levels as states rolled back dining restrictions.
Shares of the company rose 1% in premarket trading.
Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $2.03 adjusted vs. $1.79 expected
- Revenue: $2.28 billion vs. $2.19 billion expected
The Olive Garden parent reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $369 million, or $2.79 per share, up from a loss of $479.7 million, or $3.85 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, Darden earned $2.03 per share, beating the $1.79 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Net sales rose 79.5% to $2.28 billion, topping expectations of $2.19 billion.