Diners wearing protective masks wait outside an Olive Garden restaurant in Thornton, Colorado, on Friday, March 19, 2021.Chet Strange | Bloomberg |
Diners wearing protective masks wait outside an Olive Garden restaurant in Thornton, Colorado, on Friday, March 19, 2021.
Chet Strange | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Darden Restaurants on Friday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations, leading the company to raise its sales and earnings forecast for the rest of fiscal 2022.
The Olive Garden parent also announced that CEO Gene Lee will retire May 29. The board elected Chief Operating Officer Rick Cardenas as its next chief executive. Cardenas will also join the board on May 30, while Lee will stick around as executive chairman until the next shareholder vote, when he is expected to be reelected as non-executive chairman.
Shares of the company fell 5% 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: $1.48 vs. $1.43 expected
- Revenue: $2.27 billion vs. $2.23 billion expected
Darden reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $193.2 million, or $1.48 per share, up from $96 million, or 73 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expected earnings per share of $1.43.
Net sales rose 37% to $2.27 billion, topping expectations of $2.23 billion.
Additionally, the company is accelerating its plans to hike wages. Starting Jan. 1, Darden’s wage floor will be $12 an hour, including tips. This spring, it said it would raise its hourly minimum wage to $11 in January and $12 in January 2022.
Darden raised its fiscal 2022 forecast, anticipating higher sales and earnings than initially forecast.
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