Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Darden Restaurants

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – March 26, 2025– Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Darden Restaurants DRI.Olive Garden Parent Hits All-Time High as Market Rall Gathers SteamThe first legitimate rally attempt amid this latest market correction is clearly underway.US markets resumed their momentum from late last week, rallying sharply on headlines that the next set of President Trump's tariffs will be slimmer than expected. President Trump said on Monday afternoon that he may provide "a lot of countries breaks" in regards to the proposed reciprocal tariffs, which are due to be implemented on April 2nd.This past Friday's "triple witching" event – wherein a set of options contracts expired that were tied to stocks, indexes, and ETFs to the tune of about $4.5 trillion – brought enhanced volume that favored the bulls. The move pushed the major US indexes into the green, helping the Nasdaq and S&P 500 snap a 4-week losing streak.It's understandable that any meaningful rally would see the more oversold pockets of the market (like tech and consumer discretionary) bounce the most. And sure enough, the past few trading sessions have seen these two areas (along with communication services) round out the top sectors in terms of performance.Given lower asset prices this year along with lingering inflation and tariff concerns, consumers have been less confident in this environment. Back in February, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell 7 points to 98.3, marking the steepest 1-month decline since August 2021. The reading was also the lowest level in 8 months; we'll get the March figures on consumer confidence later this morning.But as we've seen, consumers don't always match their feelings with their actions. Restaurant spending is one area that has held up well, which could translate to significant upside ahead for certain discretionary stocks.Olive Garden Parent Soars to Record High Following Earnings ResultsCasual dining chain Darden Restaurants reported quarterly earnings results late last week. The company earned $2.80 per share during its fiscal third quarter, slightly below the $2.81/share Zacks Consensus Estimate. Sales of $3.16 billion improved 6.2% year-over-year but also fell short of analysts' expectations.The Orlando, Florida-based company's portfolio comprises casual restaurants such as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, as well as fine dining establishments like The Capital Grille, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Seasons 52. A Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, Darden Restaurants operates more than 2,100 locations in the United States and Canada.At its flagship restaurant in the Olive Garden, revenues increased 1.5% year-over-year to $1.33 billion. Darden CEO Rick Cardenas pointed out the fact that changes in consumer sentiment aren't being reflected in consumer spending."Even if people say they're feeling less optimistic, we haven't seen a huge correlation between that and dining out," Cardenas stated. On the earnings call, management also highlighted that several of the company's brands set records during the holiday season and Valentine's Day. Darden offered upbeat guidance, forecasting same-store sales to grow 3%.Darden, which already has an existing partnership with Uber for Olive Garden, announced a new pilot program to include 10 Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen locations. A positive rollout would allow the company to quickly pivot to full delivery services.Market participants appear to have looked past the latest mixed earnings results, instead choosing to focus on the company's prediction that consumers will continue to pull out their wallets at its restaurants. DRI stock broke out to an all-time high on Monday.For the current quarter, analysts expect Darden Restaurants to post a profit of $2.93 per share, which would reflect growth of 10.6% versus the same quarter last year. Revenues are projected to increase 9.7% to $3.24 billion.Stocks hitting new highs during market pullbacks tend to lead on the way back up. Be sure to keep an eye on discretionary stocks like DRI as the market's recovery attempt gathers steam.Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.See Stocks Free >>Media ContactZacks Investment Research800-767-3771 ext. 9339support@zacks.comhttps://www.zacks.comPast performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.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. 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