Darden Restaurants (DRI) Q3 Earnings: How Key Metrics Compare to Wall Street Estimates

Darden Restaurants (DRI) reported $3.16 billion in revenue for the quarter ended February 2025, representing a year-over-year increase of 6.2%. EPS of $2.80 for the same period compares to $2.62 a year ago.The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.21 billion, representing a surprise of -1.54%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of -0.36%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $2.81.While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.Here is how Darden Restaurants performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Same-restaurant sales - LongHorn Steakhouse - YoY change: 2.6% versus the 10-analyst average estimate of 4.9%. Same-restaurant sales - Olive Garden - YoY change: 0.6% versus 1.7% estimated by 10 analysts on average. Company-owned restaurants - Total: 2,165 compared to the 2,174 average estimate based on 10 analysts. Company-owned restaurants - Olive Garden: 927 compared to the 930 average estimate based on nine analysts. Same-restaurant sales - Consolidated - YoY change: 0.7% compared to the 1.9% average estimate based on nine analysts. Company-owned restaurants - LongHorn Steakhouse: 586 versus the nine-analyst average estimate of 584. Same-restaurant sales - Other Business - YoY change: -0.4% compared to the 1.2% average estimate based on eight analysts. Same-restaurant sales - Fine Dining - YoY change: -0.8% versus -2.1% estimated by eight analysts on average. Sales- Olive Garden: $1.33 billion compared to the $1.36 billion average estimate based on six analysts. The reported number represents a change of +1.5% year over year. Sales- Other Business: $674.30 million compared to the $689.74 million average estimate based on six analysts. The reported number represents a change of +20.2% year over year. Sales- Fine Dining: $385.30 million versus the six-analyst average estimate of $385.92 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +3.3%. Sales- LongHorn Steakhouse: $768.10 million versus the six-analyst average estimate of $784.75 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +5.1%. View all Key Company Metrics for Darden Restaurants here>>>Shares of Darden Restaurants have returned -4.4% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -7.5% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks