Darden Restaurants (DRI) Q2 2021 earnings beat, sales fall short

Darden Restaurants on Friday reported quarterly revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations as another wave of pandemic-related dining restrictions weighed on its same-store sales.

Next quarter, the Olive Garden parent expects sales to worsen, plunging 30% to 35%.

Shares of the company fell more than 1% in premarket trading.

Here’s what the company reported for the quarter ended Nov. 29 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: 73 cents vs. 71 cents expected
• Revenue: $1.66 billion vs. $1.69 billion expected

The…