Jim Cramer - Mad Money Darden Restaurants DRI-N WATCH Dec 08, 2023

Up 240% over 9 years since Starboard took over, 354% is you reinvested the hefty dividend, nearly double the S&P's performance.

They report Thursday and will reveal if people will still spend a lot of money to dine out. He likes DRI but not enough to buy it.

Trades at 18x PE and pays a 3% dividend yield. True, it's in a crowded space, but DRI makes money.

Expectations are high, so they need to come in with a strong quarter. The consumer is resilient and business is doing well.

They report Thursday. Analysts have been downgrading it and shares are down from their peak. It can go lower if they report their price hikes are hurting business.

They report Thursday. A lot will depend on their Olive Garden business, their largest, and it could surprise, but he much prefers Sweet Green and Cava.

It reports Thursday. Olive Garden still drives this company, but the street is focused on the Texas Roadhouse and Brinker chains. Are consumers pushing against high prices?

Last Friday they reported a strong quarter, which pushed the stock to new highs. Was already 19% for the year before Friday. It beat same-store sales, driven by Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse. EPS also beat, and full-year forecast was solid. They announced share buybacks and raise the dividend to 2.7%. Average weekly deliveries nearly doubled the last 2 weeks of the quarter, thanks to a new program. But fine-dining sales declined. They plan expansion in places like Canada.