Diners Making Over $125,000 Are Spending Less at Ruth's Chris and Capital Grille

Darden Restaurants Inc. is seeing more “softness” among households with incomes above $125,000 compared to last year, Chief Executive Officer Rick Cardenas said.

Consumers are still resilient but are being more “selective,” the CEO told analysts on a Thursday earnings call. Softness among higher-income consumers primarily affects the company’s fine-dining brands, a segment whose same-store sales declined 2.8% in the quarter ended Aug. 27.