** Shares of Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants DRI.N down 3.7% at $193.29 premarket

** Co misses Q3 profit estimates as labor costs, marketing spend and rising ingredient costs, including from high beef prices, persist

** Reports Q3 EPS of $2.68, below estimates of $2.94 - data compiled by LSEG

** Quarterly sales rose 5.9% to $3.34 billion, roughly inline with expectations

** Darden expects fiscal year 2026 same-restaurant sales to grow 4.5%, compared with its prior forecast of 3.5% to 4.3%; narrows EPS forecast to between $10.57 and $10.67, largely above estimates of $10.57

** Up to last close, stock has risen ~9% YTD

(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru)

((Neil.JKanatt@thomsonreuters.com;))