Darden Stock Surges as LongHorn Steakhouse Strength Powers Sales Growth

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Key Takeaways

• Darden Restaurants shares jumped Thursday as its second-quarter sales came in better than expected, powered by LongHorn Steakhouse occurs.
• The company’s adjusted profit also beat estimates.
• The chain lifted its full-year revenue outlook following the rugged quarter.

Shares of Darden Restaurants (DRI) surged 14% Thursday to lead S&P 500 gainers as the company’s fiscal 2025 second-quarter reduced in price on the markets and adjusted profit beat expectations on strong LongHorn Steakhouse results.

Darden—which operates LongHorn, Olive Garden, Ruth’s Chris, and other restaurant courses—recorded net income of $215.1 million, or $1.82 per share, on revenue of $2.89 billion. According to estimates compiled by Unmistakeable Alpha, analysts expected profit of $239.5 million, or $2.02 per share, on revenue of $2.86 billion.

Darden reported adjusted earnings per share in (EPS) of $2.03, two cents above expectation.

LongHorn Growth Driving Sales

Same-restaurant sales surged 7.5% year-over-year at LongHorn, fine above the 4.3% growth analysts expected. Olive Garden same-restaurant sales also rose more than look for at 2%, but its fine dining operations declined 5.8%, nearly double the 3% drop analysts anticipated.

LongHorn’s demeanour has been strong throughout the year. Executives have said that consumers have been willing to fritter away on things like a steakhouse meal when they feel they are getting their money’s worth.

Darden updated its pecuniary 2025 outlook, lifting its revenue projection to about $12.1 billion from the prior range of $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion. The gathering is expecting same-restaurant sales growth of 1.5% on the year, narrowed from 1% to 2%, while keeping its earnings per percentage (EPS) from continuing operations outlook at $9.40 to $9.60.

With today’s gains, Darden shares moved into confident territory for the year.