Darden Tops $13 Billion in Sales as LongHorn Stays Hot and Olive Garden Evolves Darden Restaurants closed fiscal 2026 with another quarter of industry outperformance, and its biggest growth engines—Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse—show little sign of slowing down.
The restaurant group reported fourth-quarter revenue of $3.72 billion, up 13.7 percent, while adjusted diluted earnings per share climbed 22.8 percent to $3.66
For the full fiscal year, total sales surpassed $13.2 billion for the first time in company history, up 9.4 percent, with adjusted EPS increasing 11.4 percent to $10.64. The company reported fourth-quarter same-restaurant sales growth of 4.6 percent, driven by positive traffic across the portfolio and a year that CEO Rick Cardenas said demonstrated the strength of Darden’s operating model and brand positioning. “Our restaurant teams continued to execute at a high level and their commitment to operational excellence helped each of our brands deliver positive same-restaurant sales for the quarter,” Cardenas said during Thursday’s earnings call. “We know guests choose the brands they trust for key occasions.” That trust translated into record-setting results. Cardenas said Mother’s Day marked the highest traffic day ever for Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, while guest satisfaction scores remained at or near all-time highs across the company.
LongHorn, meanwhile, continues to be Darden’s standout performer. The steakhouse chain delivered 9.5 percent same-restaurant sales growth during the fourth quarter, outperforming the industry benchmark by more than 800 basis points. Over the past three years, LongHorn has produced more than 20 percent cumulative same-restaurant sales growth, lifting average unit volumes to approximately $5.6 million.