Olive Garden’s Parent Turns the Tables with an 18% Jump After a Rocky Year

Apparently, the American dream isn’t about a white picket fence anymore or 2 kids and a golden retriever… it’s about drowning in unlimited breadsticks and pasta. Look, I'm not saying Americans would trade their firstborn for those breadsticks, but the data suggests we're getting pretty darn close…

The restaurant group that makes Olive Garden's fake Italian food taste like a religious experience just served up some thicc earnings that had analysts choking on their Tour of Italy. 

Shares of Darden spiked over 18%, making it the “hot girl” of the S&P 500 and hitting a fresh 52-week high. And who do we have to thank for this carb-fueled rally? The Never-Ending Pasta Bowl and some genius moves by Darden’s management team. 

This year, Olive Garden didn’t just resurrect the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl (arguably the greatest culinary innovation since garlic bread); they went full throttle. Starting the promotion earlier and stretching it by four extra weeks, they turned "I love pasta" into America’s new battle cry. The result? A 2% bump in same-store sales, beating Wall Street’s already high expectations and proving that America’s idea of self-care is unlimited fettucine alfredo.

And the innovation doesn’t stop at the pasta bowl. Olive Garden is dabbling with Uber Eats delivery, because why settle for dining out when you can have your alfredo hand-delivered straight to your Netflix binge? Forget flying cars… this is the future we were promised.

While Olive Garden gets the headlines, LongHorn Steakhouse has been quietly flexing its sirloins (weird analogy). Same-restaurant sales at LongHorn surged 7.5%, crushing the modest 4.3% growth analysts expected. The secret? Steak. (Revolutionary, right?) Apparently, diners are more than happy to drop $30 on a sirloin when they feel like they’re getting value. And judging by those numbers, they’re feeling it.

Let’s talk about the cold, hard stats: Darden collected $2.89 billion in revenue last quarter, narrowly beating the $2.86 billion forecast. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.03, squeaking past Wall Street’s $2.02 guess. And they’re feeling so good about themselves that they upped their full-year revenue forecast to $12.1 billion, up from the previous range of $11.8 to $11.9 billion.

Oh, and let’s not forget: Darden recently acquired Chuy’s, folding yet another chain into its empire. (I eat at Chuy’s like everyday, so I feel like a majority shareholder).

In case you’re wondering how Darden’s stock is doing year-to-date, strangely enough: before this earnings call, it was down 2.7% for the year. But after Thursday’s announcement, the stock gained 18% in early trading, marking its biggest single-day jump since November 2020. Basically a year’s worth of gains in a few hours.

Darden has cracked the code… endless carbs, affordable steaks, and delivery that requires exactly zero human interaction. With Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse leading the charge, Darden is on track to rake in record-breaking revenue in 2025… and cement its place as America’s favorite chain restaurant parent.

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Stock.News has positions in Darden Restaurants mentioned in article.