Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) came out with its yearly results last week, and we wanted to see how the business is performing and what industry forecasters think of the company following this report. Darden Restaurants reported in line with analyst predictions, delivering revenues of US$13b and statutory earnings per share of US$10.38, suggesting the business is executing well and in line with its plan. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Darden Restaurants after the latest results.

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Darden Restaurants' 23 analysts is for revenues of US$13.7b in 2027. This would reflect a reasonable 3.7% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to rise 6.4% to US$11.28. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$13.7b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$11.38 in 2027. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of US$229, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Darden Restaurants at US$274 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$156. As you can see, analysts are not all in agreement on the stock's future, but the range of estimates is still reasonably narrow, which could suggest that the outcome is not totally unpredictable.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. We would highlight that Darden Restaurants' revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 3.7% annualised growth rate until the end of 2027 being well below the historical 9.4% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 9.2% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Darden Restaurants.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that Darden Restaurants' revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have forecasts for Darden Restaurants going out to 2029, and you can see them free on our platform here.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.