Olive Garden parent company shrugs off concerns of plummeting consumer confidence because restaurant goers continue 'to treat themselves and splurge'

Olive Garden restaurant with a women entering (Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

• Stock for Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden and Longhorn’s Steakhouse, neared a 52-week high on Thursday. Investors were able to look past a lackluster quarter because the company said it wasn’t affected by declines in consumer confidence. 

How does a restaurant conglomerate that relies on customers’ discretionary income earn a minor stock rally during a period of declining consumer confidence? By showing Wall Street that while consumers might be worried, they're still hungry.