11:57 AM EDT, 03/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Darden Restaurants ( DRI ) raised its full-year sales outlook on Thursday as the company dismissed fears that high gas prices could dent consumer spending at restaurants.

The parent of Olive Garden ( DRI ) and LongHorn Steakhouse now anticipates sales to grow about 9.5% for the ongoing fiscal year, up from the prior guidance that called for an increase of 8.5% to 9.3%. Same-restaurant sales are forecast to rise by approximately 4.5%, up from the previous forecast for 3.5% to 4.3% growth.

The current consensus on FactSet is for revenue of $13.16 billion and same-store sales to increase by 3.8%.

Adjusted earnings are pegged between $10.57 and $10.67 per share for fiscal 2026, compared with its previous projections of $10.50 to $10.70. The Street is looking for non-GAAP EPS of $10.57.

When asked about the impact of increasing gas prices on consumer spending, Chief Executive Rick Cardenas said during an earnings call that "the data doesn't show a really strong correlation between gas prices and restaurant spending."

The US-Israel war with Iran, which started at the end of last month, has sent energy prices soaring amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows.

"The biggest driver we see in traffic for restaurants is (gross domestic product)," Cardenas told analysts, according to a FactSet transcript. "So, if gas prices remain high for a long period of time and make a big impact on GDP, there may be some softness. But in general, we're not too worried about gas prices. And we'll be able to react however we need to if they stay really high for a while."

For the quarter ended Feb. 22, Darden's adjusted EPS rose to $2.95 from $2.80, topping the average analyst estimate of $2.94. Sales advanced 5.9% to $3.35 billion, ahead of the Street's view for $3.33 billion.

Consolidated same-restaurant sales rose 4.2%, surpassing the market's growth forecast of 3.9%.

"Winter weather negatively impacted same-restaurant sales by approximately 100 basis points for the quarter, with more than 40% of our restaurants having to close temporarily in January during winter storm Fern," Chief Financial Officer Raj Vennam said on the call.

Same-restaurant sales increased 3.2% at Olive Garden ( DRI ) and 7.2% at LongHorn Steakhouse. The fine dining segment grew 2.1%.

Price: 202.31, Change: +1.60, Percent Change: +0.80