Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) announced that Eugene I. Lee, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will retire as CEO effective May 29, 2022. The Board has elected Ricardo Cardenas, current President and Chief Operating Officer, as Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board effective May 30, 2022. The company noted that Lee will continue to serve on Darden's Board as Executive Chairman until the 2022 Annual Meeting. At that time, Lee is expected to stand for re-election to the Board and continue to serve as Chairman in a non-executive capacity.
Separately, Darden Restaurants reported second-quarter earnings per share from continuing operations of $1.48 compared to $0.74, prior year. On average, 24 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $1.43, for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Net profit from continuing operations was $193.4 million compared to $96.9 million. Total sales increased 37% to $2.27 billion driven by a blended same-restaurant sales increase of 34.4% and the addition of 34 net new restaurants. Analysts on average had estimated $2.23 billion in revenue.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.