Darden Restaurants, Inc., the parent company for restaurants like Olive Garden

 

Darden Restaurants, Inc., the parent company for restaurants like Olive Garden, Ruth's Chris Steak House, and Longhorn Steak House, posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Thursday.  However, the company saw its stock fall 3% as guidance was slightly short of expectations. The company posted a net income of $315.1M, or $2.58 a share, which beat the FactSet consensus of $2.54. It also earned a revenue of $2.77B, which was better than the $2.6B of last quarter. DRI acquired Ruth's Chris Steak House on June 14 for $715M. What troubled buyers was the note by Darden president and CEO Rick Cardenas during the earnings conference call that fine diners spent less on alcohol this year than they did last year.  It is expected that the euphoria of coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic is wearing off for the more extravagant purchases of alcohol.