Business
Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants hikes revenue outlook as value plays help bring in diners
An Olive Garden restaurant in Milpitas, California, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Darden Restaurants on Thursday reported strong sales growth, fueled by demand at Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse as thrifty diners look for good deals.
For the second straight quarter, the company hiked its full-year outlook for revenue growth, although it only reiterated its projections for its earnings.
“The second quarter exceeded our top-line expectations as every segment delivered positive same-restaurant sales,” Darden CEO Rick Cardenas said in a statement.
Shares of the company rose nearly 3% in morning trading.
Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $2.08 adjusted vs. $2.10 expected
- Revenue: $3.1 billion vs. $3.07 billion expected
Darden reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $237.2 million, or $2.03 per share, up from $215.1 million, or $1.82 per share, a year earlier.
Higher ingredient costs, particularly for near-record prices for beef, weighed on the company’s restaurant-level margin, CFO Raj Vennam said on the company’s conference call.
Excluding restaurant closure costs and expenses related to its acquisition of Chuy’s, the restaurant company earned $2.08 per share.
Net sales rose 7.3% to $3.1 billion.
Darden’s same-store sales increased 4.3% in the quarter, topping Wall Street estimates of 3%, according to StreetAccount.
While the broader restaurant industry has seen sluggish sales growth, Darden has found success by raising its menu prices by less than inflation and adding promotions aimed at diners looking for value.
“Weaker consumer sentiment doesn’t necessarily translate into reduced spending during the quarter,” Cardenas said during the conference call.
He said the company saw high-income consumers trade into its casual-dining chains, although demand from diners making less than $50,000 fell slightly. Darden also got a traffic bump from consumers who are at least 55 years old.
Restaurant results
Olive Garden, which accounted for roughly 44% of Darden’s quarterly sales, reported same-store sales growth of 4.7%. Executives credited the popularity of the Italian chain’s $13.99 Never Ending Pasta Bowl promotion that ran during the quarter, plus Olive Garden’s growing delivery business.
In an appeal to inflation-weary consumers, Olive Garden is also adding the option of smaller portions at a lower price for select menu items. Cardenas said the change is improving its value perception among some diners. About 40% of the chain’s locations offered the lighter portions menu during the quarter, and another 20% added it early in the fiscal third quarter.
LongHorn Steakhouse saw same-store sales growth of 5.9%. While Olive Garden still outnumbers LongHorn based on its restaurant footprint, the steakhouse chain’s sales are growing faster.
Cardenas said LongHorn saw higher traffic from consumers who make less than $50,000, despite the chain’s higher average check relative to Olive Garden. He credited higher beef prices, which mean that a steak at LongHorn could be the same price or cheaper than buying one from the grocery store.
The company’s other business segment reported same-store sales growth of 3.1%, fueled by strong demand at Yard House, according to Cardenas.
Darden’s fine-dining business, which includes Ruth’s Chris and The Capital Grille, saw same-store sales growth of 0.8%, bucking the malaise of the sector.
The broader fine-dining segment has struggled as consumers spend less when dining out and many companies have cut back on business lunches and other expenses. Darden tried to appeal to those budget-conscious diners by bringing back a deal at Ruth’s Chris for a three-course meal priced at $55 per person.
“It’s a profitable deal for us,” Cardenas said.
For fiscal 2026, Darden now expects total sales growth of 8.5% to 9.3%, up from its prior forecast of 7.5% to 8.5%. The fiscal year includes a 53rd week, which is expected to contribute about 2%.
Darden also adjusted its expectations for inflation to 3.5%, on the high end of its prior range of 3% to 3.5%. Higher costs will weigh on the company’s margins, leading the company to reiterate its forecast for adjusted earnings in a range of $10.50 to $10.70 per share.
Business
Minimum wage rises to £12.71 an hour as firms warn of impact
But Spencer says his business is being squeezed from every angle – as well as minimum wage, he has had increases in business rates, national insurance, and statutory sick pay. He also expects energy bills to go up because of the war in the Middle East.
Business
Visa launches new AI tools to manage the charge dispute process
Visa Inc. signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Visa is launching six new tools using artificial intelligence to modernize the process of disputing credit card charges, the company told CNBC exclusively.
The digital payments company said the tools are designed to reduce the costs and frustration of “outdated” dispute processes for multiple entities involved in the payments process: merchants, issuers and acquirers.
“Some of the challenges are these back-office systems are still largely manual,” Andrew Torre, Visa’s president of value-added services, told CNBC. “We really had to think differently about how we approach this at scale.”
In 2025, Torre said, Visa processed more than 103 million charge disputes globally, marking a 35% increase since 2019.
“Our goal is to streamline this as much as possible,” Torre said. “We’d love to be able to see that growth rate come down.”
Visa’s new tools are part of a larger push by major banks and financial institutions to incorporate AI into their businesses — both internally and in consumer-facing applications. JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have both said they’re already using AI to hire fewer people. BNY spent $3.8 billion on technology in 2025, or about 19% of its revenue.
Visa said three of its six new tools focus on merchants, allowing them to address potential disputes before they escalate, managing disputes with generative AI responses and providing a deeper level of detail on order insights to manage confusion over unfamiliar charges.
For example, Torre said, many disputes are borne out of cardholders not recognizing a specific charge on their statements. With the new tool, Visa will be able to provide further details to financial institutions to show cardholders that data at a deeper level, according to the company.
The other three tools are built for issuers and acquirers, using predictive AI models to aid in case-by-case analysis, analyzing documents for summaries and auto fill and establishing an AI-powered dispute platform to manage the entire process in one location, Visa said.
“We’ll be able to get them insights and data so they can move from being reactive to proactive,” Torre said.
Torre said Visa’s new AI tools are part of a broader host of solutions for consumers, including a subscription manager announced last week that allows cardholders to cancel unnecessary subscriptions directly on the manager.
The automation will save time, money and unnecessary confusion for both parties, he added. Most of the tools will be generally available later this year, the company said.
“We really believe that disputes in this solution makes it much easier to manage and resolve,” Torre said. “We think it has better outcomes for everyone.”
Business
Stock market today (April 1, 2026): Which are the top gainers and losers in Nifty50 and BSE Sensex today? Check list – The Times of India
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended nearly 2 per cent higher on Wednesday, starting the new financial year on a firm footing as global markets rallied on hopes of a potential de-escalation in the ongoing West Asia conflict.The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,186.77 points or 1.65 per cent to settle at 73,134.32. During intra-day trade, it surged 2,017.03 points or 2.80 per cent to 73,964.58.The broader NSE Nifty rose 348 points or 1.56 per cent to close at 22,679.40. A decline in crude oil prices also supported investor sentiment.
Nifty50 top gainers
- Trent (+7.00%)
- InterGlobe Aviation (+6.02%)
- Kwality Wall’s (+5.79%)
- Adani Ports SEZ (+5.55%)
- BEL (+4.51%)
- SBI (+3.93%)
- Eicher Motors (+3.64%)
- Jio Financial Services (+3.50%)
- Eternal (+3.30%)
Nifty50 top losers
- Dr Reddy’s (-3.61%)
- HDFC Life (-2.99%)
- Cipla (-2.32%)
- Sun Pharma (-1.64%)
- NTPC (-1.62%)
- Apollo Hospitals (-1.53%)
- Power Grid (-1.12%)
- Max Healthcare (-0.36%)
- UltraTech Cement (-0.29%)
Sensex top gainers
- Trent (+7.00%)
- InterGlobe Aviation (+6.02%)
- Adani Ports SEZ (+5.55%)
- BEL (+4.51%)
- SBI (+3.93%)
- Eternal (+3.30%)
- L&T (+2.96%)
- Titan Company (+2.89%)
Sensex top losers
- Sun Pharma (-1.64%)
- NTPC (-1.62%)
- Power Grid (-1.12%)
- UltraTech Cement (-0.29%)
- Bharti Airtel (-0.03%)
“Indian equity markets opened the new financial year on a positive note, with stocks soaring on fresh optimism surrounding a potential de-escalation of the Middle East conflict and easing of energy supply disruptions,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.He added that US President Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting the US could withdraw from Iran “whether we have a deal or not” within the next two to three weeks provided the trigger for a broad rally in global risk assets.“Indian equity markets opened FY27 on a strong note, driven by improving risk appetite following US President Donald Trump’s remarks hinting at a potential resolution to the West Asia conflict,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited.In the US, markets ended significantly higher on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite surging 3.83 per cent, the S&P 500 rising 2.91 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 2.49 per cent.Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.22 per cent to USD 103.7 per barrel.Stock markets were closed on Tuesday on account of Shri Mahavir Jayanti.Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 11,163.06 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 14,894.72 crore, according to exchange data.
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