Earnings Anticipation: Social media is buzzing with chatter about Darden Restaurants ahead of its Q2 2026 earnings release scheduled for December 18th. Many are speculating on whether the company will meet analyst expectations of $2.10 to $2.13 per share and revenue projections around $3.07 billion. The tone reflects cautious optimism as investors await key updates.
Mixed Performance Signals: Recent discussions also highlight Darden’s first-quarter fiscal 2026 results, with some noting strong sales growth of 10.4% but disappointment over missed earnings targets. There’s concern over declining customer traffic and softer trends at flagship brands like Olive Garden, fueling debates on future growth. A few voices remain confident, pointing to the stock’s steady yearly performance and a recent 5% price uptick.
Note: This discussion summary was generated from an AI condensation of post data.
Darden Restaurants Insider Trading Activity
Darden Restaurants insiders have traded $DRI stock on the open market 17 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 17 have been sales.
Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $DRI stock by insiders over the last 6 months:
- MELVIN JOHN MARTIN (Group President) has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 13,912 shares for an estimated $2,984,724.
- TODD BURROWES (Group President) sold 13,569 shares for an estimated $2,937,000
- MATTHEW R BROAD (SVP General Counsel) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 13,343 shares for an estimated $2,769,939.
- DOUGLAS J. MILANES (SVP, Chief Supply Chain Ofcr) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 11,948 shares for an estimated $2,653,355.
- RAJESH VENNAM (SVP, CFO) sold 5,780 shares for an estimated $1,284,402
- SUSAN M. CONNELLY (SVP, Chief Comm & PA Officer) sold 4,735 shares for an estimated $1,059,585
- LAURA B WILLIAMSON (President, LongHorn Steakhouse) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 2,012 shares for an estimated $412,706.
- M SHAN ATKINS sold 1,014 shares for an estimated $223,410
- DANIEL J. KIERNAN (President, Olive Garden) sold 85 shares for an estimated $17,332
To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.
Darden Restaurants Revenue
Darden Restaurants had revenues of $3B in Q1 2026. This is an increase of 10.44% from the same period in the prior year.
You can track DRI financials on Quiver Quantitative's DRI stock page.
Darden Restaurants Congressional Stock Trading
Members of Congress have traded $DRI stock 6 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 3 have been purchases and 3 have been sales.
Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $DRI stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:
- REPRESENTATIVE LISA C. MCCLAIN has traded it 6 times. They made 3 purchases worth up to $45,000 on 10/30, 09/25, 07/16 and 3 sales worth up to $45,000 on 10/31, 10/30, 07/22.
To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard.
Darden Restaurants Hedge Fund Activity
We have seen 425 institutional investors add shares of Darden Restaurants stock to their portfolio, and 561 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.
Here are some of the largest recent moves:
- JPMORGAN CHASE & CO added 1,171,890 shares (+78.4%) to their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $223,080,980
- WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP added 1,102,211 shares (+32.8%) to their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $209,816,885
- INVESCO LTD. removed 596,296 shares (-31.1%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $113,510,906
- BLACKROCK, INC. added 543,969 shares (+5.8%) to their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $103,549,938
- PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL INC removed 434,451 shares (-73.8%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $82,702,092
- UBS AM, A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT OF UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC added 377,198 shares (+49.0%) to their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $71,803,411
- MARSHALL WACE, LLP removed 366,616 shares (-51.9%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $69,789,021
To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.
Darden Restaurants Analyst Ratings
Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $DRI in the last several months. We have seen 9 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.
Here are some recent analyst ratings:
- JP Morgan issued a "Overweight" rating on 10/06/2025
- BTIG issued a "Buy" rating on 09/19/2025
- B of A Securities issued a "Buy" rating on 09/16/2025
- Keybanc issued a "Overweight" rating on 09/10/2025
- Evercore ISI Group issued a "Outperform" rating on 09/10/2025
- Truist Securities issued a "Buy" rating on 09/02/2025
- Barclays issued a "Overweight" rating on 06/23/2025
To track analyst ratings and price targets for Darden Restaurants, check out Quiver Quantitative's $DRI forecast page.
Darden Restaurants Price Targets
Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $DRI recently. We have seen 22 analysts offer price targets for $DRI in the last 6 months, with a median target of $225.0.
Here are some recent targets:
- Andy Barish from Jefferies set a target price of $200.0 on 12/15/2025
- Brian Harbour from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $236.0 on 12/12/2025
- Jim Salera from Stephens & Co. set a target price of $205.0 on 12/11/2025
- David Palmer from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $225.0 on 12/09/2025
- Jon Tower from Citigroup set a target price of $232.0 on 12/03/2025
- Nick Setyan from Mizuho set a target price of $185.0 on 11/24/2025
- Christine Cho from Goldman Sachs set a target price of $225.0 on 10/20/2025
This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.
