EARNINGS CALL

FISCAL 2021: THIRD QUARTER RESULTS

MARCH 25, 2021

Disclaimer/Non-GAAP Information

IMPORTANT NOTICE

The following slides are part of a presentation by Darden Restaurants, Inc. (the "Company") and are intended to be viewed as part of that presentation (the "Presentation"). No representation is made that the Presentation is complete.

Forward-looking statements in this communication regarding our expected earnings performance and all other statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation statements concerning our future economic performance, are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which such statements are first made, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after such date. We wish to caution investors not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from those anticipated in the statements. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in Darden's Form

10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports. These risks and uncertainties include the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on our business and the response of governments and of our Company to the outbreak, health concerns including food-related pandemics or outbreaks of flu or other viruses, technology failures including failure to maintain a secure cyber network, food safety and food-borne illness concerns, the inability to hire, train, reward and retain restaurant team members, a failure to develop and recruit effective leaders, risks relating to public policy changes and federal, state and local regulation of our business, litigation, unfavorable publicity, an inability or failure to manage the accelerated impact of social media, long-term and non-cancelable property leases, labor and insurance costs, failure to execute a business continuity plan following a disaster, intense competition, changing consumer preferences, failure to drive profitable sales growth, a lack of availability of suitable locations for new restaurants, higher-than-anticipated costs to open, close, relocate or remodel restaurants, a failure to execute innovative marketing tactics, a failure to address cost pressures, shortages or interruptions in the delivery of food and other products and services, adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, volatility in the market value of derivatives, volatility leading to the inability to hedge equity compensation market exposure, economic factors specific to the restaurant industry and general macroeconomic factors including interest rates, disruptions in the financial markets, risks of doing business with franchisees, licensees and vendors in foreign markets, failure to protect our intellectual property, impairment in the carrying value of our goodwill or other intangible assets, failure of our internal controls over financial reporting and other factors and uncertainties discussed from time to time in reports filed by Darden with the

Securities and Exchange Commission.

The information in this communication includes financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United

States of America ("GAAP"), such as adjusted diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations and EBITDA. The Company's management uses these non-GAAP measures in its analysis of the Company's performance. The Company believes that the presentation of certain non-GAAP measures provides useful supplemental information that is essential to a proper understanding of the operating results of the Company's businesses. These non-GAAP disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures are included under "Additional Information" in this presentation.

1

MISSION

A FULL-SERVICE RESTAURANT COMPANY WITH …

Be financially successful through great people consistently delivering outstanding food, drinks and service in an inviting atmosphere making every guest loyal.

4

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

Significant

Scale

Extensive Data & Insights

Rigorous Strategic Planning

Results-Oriented Culture

1

DRIVING PHILOSOPHY

Culinary Innovation & Execution

BACK-TO-BASICS

Attentive Service

Engaging Atmosphere

Integrated Marketing

8

ICONIC BRANDS

Investing in Our People

Hourly Earnings Commitment

Previous Investment Highlights

  • • $10/hour: March 29

  • • $11/hour: January 2022

    • • Paid Sick Leave

    • • COVID-19 Emergency Pay

  • • $12/hour: January 2023

  • • Benefits Premiums

  • • Paid Time Off for COVID-19 Vaccine

TOTAL INVESTMENT OF $200 MILLION+ SINCE MARCH 2020

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Darden Restaurants Inc. published this content on 25 March 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 25 March 2021 12:36:01 UTC.