PR Newswire
ORLANDO, Fla.
, June 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended May 25, 2025.
Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights
- Total sales increased 10.6% to $3.3 billion driven by a blended same-restaurant sales1 increase of 4.6% and sales from the acquisition of 103 Chuy’s Tex Mex (Chuy’s) restaurants and 25 net new restaurants
- Same-restaurant sales:
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Olive Garden |
6.9 % |
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LongHorn Steakhouse |
6.7 % |
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Fine Dining |
(3.3) % |
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Other Business1 |
1.2 % |
- Reported diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations were $2.58
- Excluding $0.40 of Chuy’s transaction and integration related costs and costs from restaurant closures, adjusted diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations were $2.98, an increase of 12.5%3
- The Company repurchased $51 million of its outstanding common stock
Fiscal 2025 Financial Highlights
- Total sales increased 6.0% to $12.1 billion driven by a blended same-restaurant sales1, 2 increase of 2.0% and sales from the acquisition of 103 Chuy’s restaurants and 25 net new restaurants
- Same-restaurant sales:
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Olive Garden |
1.7 % |
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LongHorn Steakhouse |
5.1 % |
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Fine Dining2 |
(3.0) % |
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Other Business1 |
0.2 % |
- Reported diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations were $8.88
- Excluding $0.67 of Chuy’s transaction and integration related costs and costs from restaurant closures, adjusted diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations were $9.55, an increase of 7.5%3
“We had a strong quarter with same-restaurant sales and earnings growth that exceeded our expectations,” said Darden President & CEO Rick Cardenas. “Our adherence to our winning strategy, anchored in our four competitive advantages and being brilliant with the basics, led to a successful year. Our strategy remains the right one for the company, and we will continue to execute it to drive growth and long-term shareholder value.”
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Segment Performance
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, the Company changed its reporting of segment profit to exclude pre-opening costs. Fiscal 2024 figures were recast for comparability. Segment profit represents sales, less costs for food and beverage, restaurant labor, restaurant expenses and marketing expenses. Segment profit excludes non-cash real estate related expenses. Sales and profits from Chuy’s restaurants are included within the Other Business segment from the date of acquisition forward.
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$3,271.7 |
$2,957.3 |
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Olive Garden |
$1,381.0 |
$1,277.5 |
$328.4 |
$291.4 |
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LongHorn Steakhouse |
$833.8 |
$762.7 |
$167.8 |
$147.2 |
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Fine Dining |
$334.6 |
$327.1 |
$62.9 |
$64.6 |
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Other Business |
$722.3 |
$590.0 |
$126.3 |
$102.5 |
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$12,076.7 |
$11,390.0 |
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Olive Garden |
$5,212.9 |
$5,067.0 |
$1,163.9 |
$1,117.4 |
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LongHorn Steakhouse |
$3,025.5 |
$2,806.2 |
$582.7 |
$516.8 |
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Fine Dining |
$1,304.8 |
$1,291.5 |
$242.5 |
$245.0 |
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Other Business |
$2,533.5 |
$2,225.3 |
$397.4 |
$340.3 |
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Dividend Declared
Darden’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.50 per share on the Company’s outstanding common stock, a 7.1% increase from third quarter fiscal 2025. The dividend is payable on August 1, 2025 to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 10, 2025.
Share Repurchase Program
During the quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 0.2 million shares of its common stock for a total of $51 million. In addition, on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, Darden’s Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to $1 billion of its outstanding common stock. This repurchase program does not have an expiration and replaces the previously existing share repurchase authorization.
“Our long-term framework calls for 10-15% Total Shareholder Return over time,” said Darden CFO Raj Vennam. “Over our 30-year history as a public company, Darden has achieved an annualized total shareholder return of 10% or greater over any 10 fiscal-year period. This level of performance reflects the strength of our operating model and the durability of the cash flows it generates.”
Fiscal 2026 Financial Outlook
Below is the full year financial outlook for fiscal 2026, which includes a 53rd week. This outlook includes the impact of the additional week. We will provide more details during our investor conference call scheduled for this morning at 8:30 am ET.
- Total sales growth of 7% to 8%, including approximately 2% growth related to the 53rd week
- Same-restaurant sales4 growth of 2% to 3.5%
- New restaurant openings of 60 to 65
- Total capital spending of $700 to $750 million
- Total inflation of 2.5% to 3.0%
- An effective tax rate of approximately 13%
- Diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations of $10.50 to $10.70, including:
- Approximately $0.20 related to the addition of the 53rd week
- Approximately 117 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding
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Annual Meeting of Shareholders
Darden will hold its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on September 17, 2025. The meeting will be held in a virtual format only. The record date for shareholders to vote in the Annual Meeting is July 23, 2025.
Investor Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call and slide presentation on
Friday, June 20, 2025
at 8:30 am ET to review its recent financial performance. To listen to the call live, please go to
https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=7QyRH4t8.
Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the site and download any software required to listen to the webcast. Prior to the call, a slide presentation will be posted on the Investor Relations section of our website at:
www.darden.com
. For those who cannot access the Internet, please dial
1-877-407-9219
. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call.
About Darden
Darden is a restaurant company featuring a portfolio of differentiated brands that include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Chuy’s, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s and Bahama Breeze. For more information, please visit www.darden.com.
Information About Forward-Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements in this communication regarding our expected earnings performance and all other statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation statements concerning our future economic performance, are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which such statements are first made, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after such date. We wish to caution investors not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from those anticipated in the statements. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in Darden’s Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports. These risks and uncertainties include: a failure to address cost pressures and a failure to effectively deliver cost management activities, economic factors and their impacts on the restaurant industry and general macroeconomic factors including unemployment, energy prices, tariffs and interest rates, the inability to hire, train, reward and retain restaurant team members, a failure to develop and recruit effective leaders, labor and insurance costs, health concerns including food-related pandemics or outbreaks of flu or other viruses, food safety and food-borne illness concerns, technology failures including failure to maintain a secure cyber network, compliance with privacy and data protection laws and risks of failures or breaches of our data protection systems, the inability to successfully complete our integration of Chuy’s Holdings operations into our business, risks relating to public policy changes and federal, state and local regulation of our business, intense competition, changing consumer preferences, an inability or failure to manage the accelerated impact of social media, a failure to execute innovative marketing and guest relationship tactics, climate change, adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, long-term and non-cancelable property leases, failure to execute a business continuity plan following a disaster, shortages or interruptions in the delivery of food and other products and services, failure to drive profitable sales growth, a lack of availability of suitable locations for new restaurants, higher-than-anticipated costs to open, close, relocate or remodel restaurants, risks of doing business with franchisees, licensees and vendors in foreign markets, volatility in the market value of derivatives, volatility leading to the inability to hedge equity compensation market exposure, failure to protect our intellectual property, environmental, social and governance risk, including disclosure expectations and the impacts of third party ratings, litigation, unfavorable publicity, disruptions in the financial markets, impairment in the carrying value of our goodwill or other intangible assets, changes in tax laws or unanticipated tax liabilities, failure of our internal controls over financial reporting and other factors and uncertainties discussed from time to time in reports filed by Darden with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Non-GAAP Information
The information in this press release includes financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), such as adjusted diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations. The Company’s management uses these non-GAAP measures in its analysis of the Company’s performance. The Company believes that the presentation of certain non-GAAP measures provides useful supplemental information that is essential to a proper understanding of the operating results of the Company’s businesses. These non-GAAP disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures are included in this release.
(Analysts) Courtney Aquilla, (407) 245-5054; (Media) Rich Jeffers, (407) 245-4189
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$ in millions, except per share amounts |
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% Change vs Prior Year |
— % |
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Transaction and integration related costs5 |
7.0 |
2.1 |
4.9 |
0.04 |
7.4 |
(0.8) |
8.2 |
0.07 |
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Impairment on restaurant disposition6 |
47.7 |
11.9 |
35.8 |
0.30 |
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Restaurant closing costs7 |
9.2 |
2.3 |
6.9 |
0.06 |
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% Change vs Prior Year |
12.5 % |
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$ in millions, except per share amounts |
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% Change vs Prior Year |
4.1 % |
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Transaction and integration related costs5 |
44.6 |
7.9 |
36.7 |
0.31 |
51.8 |
9.7 |
42.1 |
0.35 |
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Impairment on restaurant disposition6 |
47.7 |
11.9 |
35.8 |
0.30 |
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Restaurant closing costs7 |
9.2 |
2.3 |
6.9 |
0.06 |
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% Change vs Prior Year |
7.5 % |
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Olive Garden |
935 |
920 |
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LongHorn Steakhouse |
591 |
575 |
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Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen |
181 |
181 |
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Chuy’s |
108 |
— |
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Yard House |
88 |
88 |
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Ruth’s Chris |
82 |
80 |
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The Capital Grille |
71 |
66 |
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Seasons 52 |
43 |
44 |
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Eddie V’s |
29 |
30 |
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Bahama Breeze |
28 |
43 |
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The Capital Burger |
3 |
4 |
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Three Months Ended |
Twelve Months Ended |
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5/25/2025 |
5/26/2024 |
5/25/2025 |
5/26/2024 |
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Sales |
$ 3,271.7 |
$ 2,957.3 |
$ 12,076.7 |
$ 11,390.0 |
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Costs and expenses: |
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Food and beverage |
983.9 |
906.9 |
3,657.0 |
3,523.9 |
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Restaurant labor |
1,022.0 |
926.0 |
3,833.1 |
3,619.3 |
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Restaurant expenses |
517.1 |
462.7 |
1,944.0 |
1,812.3 |
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Marketing expenses |
41.0 |
37.3 |
169.9 |
144.5 |
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Pre-opening costs |
8.7 |
5.0 |
24.8 |
24.3 |
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General and administrative expenses |
133.1 |
102.9 |
520.3 |
479.2 |
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Depreciation and amortization |
135.0 |
119.7 |
516.1 |
459.9 |
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Impairments and disposal of assets, net |
48.1 |
1.4 |
49.2 |
12.4 |
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Total operating costs and expenses |
$ 2,888.9 |
$ 2,561.9 |
$ 10,714.4 |
$ 10,075.8 |
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Operating income |
382.8 |
395.4 |
1,362.3 |
1,314.2 |
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Interest, net |
46.3 |
35.4 |
175.1 |
138.7 |
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Earnings before income taxes |
336.5 |
360.0 |
1,187.2 |
1,175.5 |
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Income tax expense |
32.5 |
50.0 |
136.2 |
145.0 |
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Earnings from continuing operations |
$ 304.0 |
$ 310.0 |
$ 1,051.0 |
$ 1,030.5 |
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Losses from discontinued operations, net of tax benefit of $0.1, $0.7, $0.8 and |
(0.2) |
(1.9) |
(1.4) |
(2.9) |
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Net earnings |
$ 303.8 |
$ 308.1 |
$ 1,049.6 |
$ 1,027.6 |
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Basic net earnings per share: |
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Earnings from continuing operations |
$ 2.60 |
$ 2.60 |
$ 8.94 |
$ 8.59 |
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Losses from discontinued operations |
(0.01) |
(0.02) |
(0.01) |
(0.02) |
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Net earnings |
$ 2.59 |
$ 2.58 |
$ 8.93 |
$ 8.57 |
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Diluted net earnings per share: |
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Earnings from continuing operations |
$ 2.58 |
$ 2.58 |
$ 8.88 |
$ 8.53 |
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Losses from discontinued operations |
— |
(0.01) |
(0.02) |
(0.02) |
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Net earnings |
$ 2.58 |
$ 2.57 |
$ 8.86 |
$ 8.51 |
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Average number of common shares outstanding: |
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Basic |
117.1 |
119.2 |
117.5 |
119.9 |
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Diluted |
117.9 |
120.1 |
118.4 |
120.8 |
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5/25/2025 |
5/26/2024 |
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(Unaudited) |
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Current assets: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
$ 240.0 |
$ 194.8 |
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Receivables, net |
93.8 |
79.1 |
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Inventories |
311.6 |
290.5 |
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Prepaid income taxes |
135.6 |
121.7 |
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Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
156.7 |
136.7 |
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Total current assets |
$ 937.7 |
$ 822.8 |
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Land, buildings and equipment, net |
4,716.0 |
4,184.3 |
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Operating lease right-of-use assets |
3,555.9 |
3,429.3 |
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Goodwill |
1,659.4 |
1,391.0 |
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Trademarks |
1,346.4 |
1,148.0 |
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Other assets |
371.6 |
347.6 |
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Total assets |
$ 12,587.0 |
$ 11,323.0 |
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Current liabilities: |
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Accounts payable |
$ 439.6 |
$ 399.5 |
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Short-term debt |
— |
86.8 |
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Accrued payroll |
207.5 |
190.1 |
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Accrued income taxes |
4.7 |
6.1 |
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Other accrued taxes |
83.0 |
71.0 |
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Unearned revenues |
599.4 |
591.8 |
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Other current liabilities |
913.3 |
847.2 |
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Total current liabilities |
$ 2,247.5 |
$ 2,192.5 |
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Long-term debt |
2,128.9 |
1,370.4 |
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Deferred income taxes |
278.8 |
232.0 |
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Operating lease liabilities – non-current |
3,816.9 |
3,704.7 |
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Other liabilities |
1,803.6 |
1,580.9 |
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Total liabilities |
$ 10,275.7 |
$ 9,080.5 |
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Stockholders’ equity: |
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Common stock and surplus |
$ 2,295.6 |
$ 2,252.4 |
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Retained earnings (deficit) |
(16.1) |
(35.5) |
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Accumulated other comprehensive income |
31.8 |
25.6 |
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Total stockholders’ equity |
$ 2,311.3 |
$ 2,242.5 |
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Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity |
$ 12,587.0 |
$ 11,323.0 |
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Twelve Months Ended |
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5/25/2025 |
5/26/2024 |
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Cash flows—operating activities |
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Net earnings |
$ 1,049.6 |
$ 1,027.6 |
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Losses from discontinued operations, net of tax |
1.4 |
2.9 |
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Adjustments to reconcile net earnings from continuing operations to cash flows: |
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Depreciation and amortization |
516.1 |
459.9 |
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Impairments and disposal of assets, net |
49.2 |
12.4 |
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Stock-based compensation expense |
79.1 |
68.5 |
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Change in current assets and liabilities and other, net |
11.6 |
50.4 |
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Net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations |
$ 1,707.0 |
$ 1,621.7 |
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Cash flows—investing activities |
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Purchases of land, buildings and equipment |
(644.6) |
(601.2) |
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Proceeds from disposal of land, buildings and equipment |
2.5 |
3.3 |
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Cash used in business acquisitions, net of cash acquired |
(613.7) |
(701.1) |
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Purchases of capitalized software and changes in other assets, net |
(22.5) |
(25.6) |
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Net cash used in investing activities of continuing operations |
$ (1,278.3) |
$ (1,324.6) |
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Cash flows—financing activities |
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Net proceeds from issuance of common stock |
55.6 |
43.6 |
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Dividends paid |
(658.5) |
(628.4) |
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Repurchases of common stock |
(418.2) |
(453.9) |
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(Repayment of) proceeds from short-term debt, net |
(86.8) |
86.8 |
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Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt, net |
750.0 |
500.0 |
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Principal payments on finance leases, net |
(21.0) |
(19.9) |
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Payments of debt issuance costs |
(6.9) |
(11.6) |
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Net cash used in financing activities of continuing operations |
$ (385.8) |
$ (483.4) |
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Cash flows—discontinued operations |
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Net cash used in operating activities of discontinued operations |
(8.5) |
(9.8) |
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Net cash used in discontinued operations |
$ (8.5) |
$ (9.8) |
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Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash |
34.4 |
(196.1) |
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Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – beginning of period |
220.1 |
416.2 |
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Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – end of period |
$ 254.5 |
$ 220.1 |
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Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash: |
5/25/2025 |
5/26/2024 |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
$ 240.0 |
$ 194.8 |
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Restricted cash included in prepaid expenses and other current assets |
14.5 |
25.3 |
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Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash shown in the statement of cash flows |
$ 254.5 |
$ 220.1 |
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View original content:SOURCE Darden Restaurants, Inc.: Financial
