Darden posts strong sales, plans Bahama Breeze closures and conversions

Darden Restaurants said fiscal fourth-quarter sales rose 13.7% to $3.72 billion, with same-restaurant sales up 4.6% as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse continued to drive traffic. The company also pointed to a 53rd week of operations and 43 net new restaurants, a mix that gives management more room to reward shareholders while deciding which concepts still deserve investment.

That split is clearest in Bahama Breeze. Darden said locations of the casual Caribbean chain are expected to be closed or converted to other brands between the third quarter of fiscal 2026 and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027. For workers, that usually means a period of uncertainty before a decision lands in a given market: transfers for some staff, cuts for others, and a race to retrain employees if a unit gets folded into a different banner with different menu prep, service flow, and labor needs.

The company also flagged costs tied to restaurant closures, impairments, and the integration of Chuy’s, another sign that strong sales at the top of the portfolio can be used to clean up weaker pieces of the business. In restaurant operations, that kind of shift often shows up far from the earnings release, in scheduling changes, menu simplification, and a tighter push for standardization across front and back of house. For line cooks, servers, bartenders, and managers, it can mean steadier hours in the brands Darden wants to lean into and more churn in the concepts it is willing to shrink.

Alongside the restructuring, Darden increased its quarterly dividend and authorized a new $1.5 billion share repurchase program. That tells investors the company sees enough cash flow to return money to shareholders while still funding brand investment, but it also puts a sharper spotlight on where that money is going on the ground: staffing the strongest dining rooms, keeping training consistent, and deciding which restaurants are worth fixing versus folding into something else.