Darden Restaurants — Mar 19, 2026 release

Share Repurchase Program During the quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 0.7 million shares of its common stock for a total of $127 million. As of the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2026, the Company had $516 million remaining under the current $1 billion repurchase authorization. Fiscal 2026 Financial Outlook The Company updated its full year financial outlook for fiscal 2026, which includes a 53rd week. This outlook includes the impact of the additional week. We will provide additional details during our investor conference call scheduled for this morning at 8:30 am ET. • Total sales growth of approximately 9.5%, including approximately 2% growth related to the 53rd week • Same-restaurant sales 5 growth of approximately 4.5% • New restaurant openings of approximately 70 • Total capital spending of $750 to $775 million • Total inflation of approximately 3.5% • An effective tax rate of approximately 12.5% • Adjusted diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations of $10.57 to $10.67 4 , including: ◦ Approximately $0.25 related to the addition of the 53rd week • Approximately 116.5 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding 5 Annual same-restaurant sales is a 52-week metric and excludes the impact of Chuy’s, which will not have been owned and operated by Darden for a 16-month period prior to the beginning of fiscal 2026, as well as Bahama Breeze as all locations are expected