=Darden Restaurants (DRI) reported earnings on Thur 20 Sept 18 (b/o)

Darden Restaurants beats by $0.10, beats on revs; Q1 comps +3.3%; raises FY19 EPS, revenue, and comps guidance 

• Reports Q1 (Aug) earnings of $1.34 per share, $0.10 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $1.24; revenues rose 6.5% year/year to $2.06 bln vs the $2.03 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus. Blended same-restaurant sales increased 3.3% (+5.3% for Olive Garden, +3.1% for LongHorn Steakhouse, +3.9% for The Capital Grille.)
• Co issues raised guidancefor FY19, sees EPS of $5.52-5.65 from $5.40-5.56 vs. $5.55 S&P Capital IQ Consensus; sees FY19 revs of +5.0-5.5% from +4-5% to ~$8.48-8.52 bln vs. $8.46 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus; sees same store sales of +2.0-2.5% versus +1.0-2.0% prior guidance.