Ruth's Steak House on May 03, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Darden Restaurants said Wednesday it is buying Ruth's Hospitality Group, the parent company of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, for $715 million.
Joe Rydell | Getty Images
Darden Restaurants On Thursday, it reported mixed quarterly results as the Olive Garden owner's same-store sales contracted for the first time since the pandemic.
The company's shares fell more than 5% in pre-market trading.
Here's what the company reported compared to what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts conducted by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:
Earnings per share: $2.62 adjusted in line with expectations Revenue: $2.97 billion vs. $3.03 billion expected
Darden reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $312.9 million, or $2.60 per share, up from $286.6 million, or $2.34 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the restaurant company earned $2.62 per share.
Net sales increased 6.8% to $2.97 billion, boosted by Darden's acquisition of Ruth's Chris Steak House and 53 new restaurant locations.
But Darden's overall same-store sales were down 1% in the quarter as nearly all restaurant segments reported declines in same-store sales. Only LongHorn Steakhouse saw same-store sales growth. A year ago, Darden reported same-store sales growth of 11.7%.
Olive Garden, usually the crown jewel of Darden's portfolio, reported that its same-store sales fell 1.8%. Analysts had expected same-store sales to rise 1.3%, according to StreetAccount estimates.
Same-store sales at LongHorn Steakhouse rose 2.3%, but were still below StreetAccount estimates of 3.1%.
Darden's fine dining business, which includes The Capital Grille, saw same-store sales decline 2.3%. This division now includes Ruth's Chris, but same-store results will not be included in the category total for several more quarters.
The remaining chains, such as Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, saw same-store sales decline 2.6%.
Darden also updated its outlook for fiscal 2024. The company now expects adjusted earnings per share to range from $8.80 to $8.90, narrowing its earnings outlook from the previous range of $8.75 to $8.90. Darden also lowered its revenue forecast from $11.5 billion to $11.4 billion and changed its same-store sales forecast from a range of 2.5% to 3% to a range of 1.5% to 2%.
