Darden Restaurants — Jun 13, 2025 release

In addition, on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, Darden's Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to $1 billion of its outstanding common stock. This repurchase program does not have an expiration and replaces the previously existing share repurchase authorization. “Our long-term framework calls for 10-15% Total Shareholder Return over time,” said Darden CFO Raj Vennam. “Over our 30-year history as a public company, Darden has achieved an annualized total shareholder return of 10% or greater over any 10 fiscal-year period. This level of performance reflects the strength of our operating model and the durability of the cash flows it generates.” Fiscal 2026 Financial Outlook Below is the full year financial outlook for fiscal 2026, which includes a 53rd week. This outlook includes the impact of the additional week. We will provide more details during our investor conference call scheduled for this morning at 8:30 am ET. • Total sales growth of 7% to 8%, including approximately 2% growth related to the 53rd week • Same-restaurant sales 4 growth of 2% to 3.5% • New restaurant openings of 60 to 65 2 • Total capital spending of $700 to $750 million • Total inflation of 2.5% to 3.0% • An effective tax rate of approximately 13% • Diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations of $10.50 to $10.70, including: ◦ Approximately $0.20 related to the addition of the 53rd week • Approximately 117 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding 4 Annual same-restaurant sales is a 52-w