Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) reported earnings on Sep. 21. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Aug. 26 (Q1), Darden Restaurants met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded and GAAP earnings per share expanded.

Gross margins expanded, operating margins dropped, net margins shrank.

Revenue details
 Darden Restaurants logged revenue of $2.03 billion. The 27 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $2.03 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.94 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.85. The 29 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.84 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.85 for Q1 were 9.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.78 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 23.8%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.6%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.4%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.01 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.46.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $8.74 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.88.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 378 members out of 498 rating the stock outperform, and 120 members rating it underperform. Among 142 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 123 give Darden Restaurants a green thumbs-up, and 19 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Darden Restaurants is outperform, with an average price target of $55.08.

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