Darden Restaurants (DRI) Q3 2024 earnings [Video]

Darden Restaurants on Thursday reported mixed quarterly results as the Olive Garden owner’s same-store sales shrank for the first time since the Covid pandemic.

Sales slowed down in January due to bad weather, and underperformed expectations in February. CFO Raj Vennam said on the company’s conference call that February’s weak sales exposed “some underlying consumer weakness.”

Shares of the company fell more than 4% in morning trading.

Here’s what the company reported for the quarter ended Feb. 25 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: $2.62 adjusted, meeting 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 rose 6.8% to $2.97 billion, fueled by Darden’s acquisition of Ruth’s …