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Darden Restaurants announces $500M share buyback after Q1'20 EPS beat

Darden Restaurants Inc. on Sept. 19 announced that its board authorized a new $500 million share repurchase program after first quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations.

The buyback program has no expiration date and replaces the restaurant operator's existing share repurchase authorization.

For the three months to Aug. 25, the Olive Garden owner's adjusted diluted EPS rose 3% to $1.38 from $1.34 from the year-ago period, above the S&P Global Market Intelligence consensus normalized EPS estimate of $1.36.

Total sales climbed 3.5% year over year to $2.13 billion from $2.06 billion, driven by the launch of 40 net new locations, while same-restaurant sales growth was 0.9%.

The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2020 earnings outlook for adjusted diluted EPS of $6.30 to $6.45, total sales increase of 5.3% to 6.3% and same-restaurant sales growth of 1% to 2%. It plans to open net 44 new locations during the year.

Darden's board also declared a quarterly cash dividend of 88 cents, payable Nov. 1 to shareholders of record on Oct. 10.

In late morning trading, Darden shares were down 3.9% at $122.22.