Wall Street wants $2.06 a share from Olive Garden's parent. Will Darden clear that bar on Sept 24?

Darden Restaurants, parent of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, reported fiscal first-quarter 2027 results on September 24, 2026. Diluted earnings per share came in at $2.05, narrowly missing the Wall Street consensus of $2.06 a share flagged in the question. Net sales rose 5.1 percent to $3.20 billion, just short of the roughly $3.21 billion analysts expected. Performance diverged sharply by brand: Olive Garden's same-restaurant sales grew only 1.1 percent, hurt by lingering customer concerns tied to a cyclospora illness cluster and disrupted dining patterns during World Cup viewing, while LongHorn Steakhouse posted 6.2 percent growth. Shares fell as much as 5 percent in premarket trading before paring losses after executives reassured investors on the earnings call. CEO Rick Cardenas said trends had improved into September and that commodity costs, including beef, were expected to ease later in the fiscal year. Darden reaffirmed its full-year guidance of $11.10 to $11.35 in earnings per share despite the quarterly miss. The prediction community correctly anticipated the shortfall, with only 25 percent expecting Darden to clear the $2.06 bar, aligning with the eventual narrow miss.