Is Darden Restaurants Stock a Buy?
Restaurants have been some of the businesses hardest hit by the economic effects of COVID-19. It's already a hyper-competitive and low-profit margin industry, and the lockdown has hastened changes in consumer behavior and is forcing many restaurant chains to update their operations to meet new demands. Not all are in position to make a graceful pivot, but Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) -- parent organization of Olive Garden -- is faring much better than many of its peers.
For the casual dining segment of the restaurant industry, the economic lockdown and social distancing orders that started the second half of March were disastrous. For Darden, its stable of brands was no exception. Things got ugly during the final three months of its 2020 fiscal year (the period ended May 31, 2020). Darden reported the following comparable store sales (or comps, a blend of foot traffic and average guest ticket size) declines for its various chains compared to the year-ago period.
Restaurant Brand
Source Fool.com
