After yesterday’s closing bell, Darden Restaurants posted better than expected results for Q4, the fourth S&P 500 company to report for the quarter. Earnings per share came in at $0.28, slightly higher than the Estimize expectation for $0.26, and even higher than the company’s own guidance of $0.27. Profits jumped 40% on a year-over-year basis, juxtaposed to the 40% decrease Darden saw in EPS just last quarter. Comparable same-restaurant sales for the quarter were up for each of their restaurants with the exception of the Bahama Breeze chain which was down -0.06%. Even Olive Garden, the company’s largest chain with 836 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, posted same-restaurant sales of 0.5%, after analysts were expecting a quarterly decline. The company spun off it’s Red Lobster unit earlier this year to specifically focus more on its Olive Garden business. It seems as though Darden could finally be benefitting from a larger trend towards casual dining, with the company raising the lower end of it’s fiscal 2015 EPS guidance to $2.25 - $2.30 from the range of $2.22 - $2.30 issued in September.

Earlier this morning, FedEx reported Q4 EPS of $2.14, and while that was a 36% increase from the year-ago quarter, it still fell $0.03 short of the Estimize consensus and $0.08 short of the Wall Street consensus. Revenues of $11.9B also missed expectations, while growing 4% YoY. Despite the miss, the company reaffirmed its 2015 earnings guidance of $8.50 - $9.00, assuming “continued moderate economic growth and a modest net benefit from fuel.” Domestic package volume increase 7%, yet revenue per package was down 2% as a result of declining fuel surcharges and lower weight. International package volume was up 5%. The holiday season should be better than ever for the shipping company this year as they prepare to ship a record number of packages. After a number of logistical glitches last year, the company is gearing up by adding more trucks, workers and planes to ensure timely delivery.

Later today we will get comments from the Fed after a two day FOMC meeting. As oil prices continue their downward trajectory, many analysts anticipate this will be the catalyst for an upward revision to GDP growth forecasts, and also expect the Fed to drop the “considerable time” language from its statement in preparation for a mid-2015 rate hike. We’ll also get fourth quarter results from Oracle after the closing bell, that company expected to post EPS of $0.69 and revenues of $9.5B.

Early Read on the Fourth Quarter

Expectations for S&P 500 earnings growth for the fourth quarter stand at 8.7%. Revenues are anticipated to come in with 2.0% growth. Energy is the only sector expected to post both negative earnings and revenue growth, while materials and utilities are estimated to post negative revenue growth only.