Darden Restaurants (DRI)

Risks

• A failure to address cost pressures, including rising costs for commodities, labor, health care and utilities used by our restaurants, and a failure to effectively deliver cost management activities and achieve economies of scale in purchasing could compress our margins and adversely affect our sales and results of operations.
• Certain economic and business factors and their impacts on the restaurant industry and other general macroeconomic factors including unemployment, energy prices and interest rates that are largely beyond our control may adversely affect consumer behavior and our results of operations.
• The inability to hire, train, reward and retain restaurant team members and determine and maintain adequate staffing may impact our ability to achieve our operating, growth and financial objectives.
• A failure to recruit, develop and retain effective leaders or the loss or shortage of personnel with key capacities and skills could impact our strategic direction and jeopardize our ability to meet our business performance expectations and growth targets.
• We may be subject to increased labor and insurance costs.
• Health concerns arising from food-related pandemics, outbreaks of flu, viruses or other diseases may have an adverse effect on our business.
• A failure to maintain food safety throughout the supply chain and food-borne illness concerns may have an adverse effect on our business.
• We rely heavily on information technology in our operations, and insufficient guest or employee facing technology or a failure to maintain a continuous and secure cyber network, free from material failure, interruption or security breach, could harm our ability to effectively operate our business and/or result in the loss of respected relationships with our guests or employees.
• We are subject to a number of risks relating to public policy changes and federal, state and local regulation of our business, including in the areas of environmental matters, minimum wage, employee benefit regulations, unionization, menu labeling, immigration requirements and taxes, and an insufficient or ineffective response to legislation or government regulation may impact our cost structure, operational efficiencies and talent availability.
• We face intense competition, and if we have an insufficient focus on competition and the consumer landscape, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
• We are subject to changes in consumer preferences that may adversely affect demand for food at our restaurants.
• Our inability or failure to recognize, respond to and effectively manage the accelerated impact of social media could have a material adverse impact on our business.
• A failure to identify and execute innovative marketing and guest relationship tactics, ineffective or improper use of other marketing initiatives, and increased advertising and marketing costs could adversely affect our results of operations.
• Climate change, adverse weather conditions and natural disasters could adversely affect our restaurant sales or results of operations.
• A majority of our restaurants are operated in leased properties and as a result, we are committed to long-term lease obligations that we may not be able to cancel if we want to close a restaurant location and we may be unable to renew the leases that we may want to extend at the end of their terms.
• Our inability or failure to execute on a comprehensive business continuity plan following a major natural disaster such as a hurricane or manmade disaster, at our corporate facility could have a materially adverse impact on our business.
• We may lose sales or incur increased costs if our restaurants experience shortages, delays or interruptions in the delivery of food and other products from our third party vendors and suppliers.
• Our failure to drive both short-term and long-term profitable sales growth through brand relevance, operating excellence, opening new restaurants of existing brands, and acquiring new restaurant brands could result in poor financial performance.
• A lack of availability of suitable locations for new restaurants or a decline in the quality of the locations of our current restaurants may adversely affect our sales and results of operations.
• We may experience higher-than-anticipated costs or delays associated with the opening of new restaurants or with the closing, relocating and remodeling of existing restaurants, which may adversely affect our results of operations.
• We face a variety of risks associated with doing business with franchisees and licensees.
• We face a variety of risks associated with doing business with business partners and vendors in foreign markets.
• Volatility in the market value of derivatives we may use to hedge exposures to fluctuations in commodity and broader market prices may cause volatility in our gross margins and net earnings.
• Volatility in the United States equity markets affects our ability to efficiently hedge exposures to our market risk related to equity-based compensation awards.
• Failure to protect our service marks or other intellectual property could harm our business.
• Litigation, including allegations of illegal, unfair or inconsistent employment practices, may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
• Unfavorable publicity, or a failure to respond effectively to adverse publicity, could harm our reputation and adversely impact our guest counts and sales.
• Disruptions in the financial and credit markets may adversely impact consumer spending patterns and affect the availability and cost of credit.
• Impairment of the carrying value of our goodwill or other intangible assets could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
• Changes in tax laws and unanticipated tax liabilities could adversely affect our financial results.
• Failure of our internal controls over financial reporting and future changes in accounting standards may cause adverse unexpected operating results, affect our reported results of operations or otherwise harm our business and financial results.