Darden Restaurants (DRI)

Consumer Discretionary · $26.0B market cap · SEC CIK 0000940944

Next reports on Dec 11, 2026, with analysts expecting $2.28 in earnings per share.

52-week range $169.00 to $233.98. 2% below its 52-week high and 35% above its low.

The case for DRI

• Earns 56% back on shareholder equity.
• Revenue growing 8.1% year over year.
• Pays a 3.4% dividend while you wait.
• Reasonably priced for its growth: 22.0× earnings, where 13% a year of growth plus a 3.4% dividend would justify about 32×.
• Has compounded revenue at 12.9% a year over five years.
• Moves less than the market (beta 0.62).

The case against

• Current liabilities exceed current assets (ratio 0.30).
• Long-term debt of $1.6B against $220M of cash.

What the score is made of

Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Consumer Discretionary companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.

• Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 48 Consumer Discretionary companies.

The financials

The financials, five years deep

Pulled from Darden Restaurants's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.

What Darden Restaurants says it does

Introduction Darden Restaurants, Inc. (“Darden,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a full-service restaurant company, and as of May 31, 2026, we owned and operated 2,202 restaurants through subsidiaries in the United States under the Olive Garden ® , LongHorn Steakhouse ® , Yard House ® , Ruth’s Chris Steak House ® (“Ruth’s Chris”), Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen ® , The Capital Grille ® , Chuy’s ® , Seasons 52 ® , Eddie V’s Prime Seafood ® (“Eddie V’s”), Bahama Breeze ® , and The Capital Burger ® trademarks. As of May 31, 2026, we also had 167 restaurants operated by independent third parties pursuant to area development and franchise agreements, four restaurants operating under contractual agreements, and one restaurant that we jointly own with a third party and operate independently. The following table details the number of company-owned and operated restaurants, as well as those operated under franchise and contractual…

Risk factors DRI lists in its 10-K

• 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
• 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 face intense competition, and if we have an insufficient strategy or 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
• “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.”
• Climate change, adverse weather conditions, and natural disasters could adversely affect our sales or results of operations
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) matters, our reporting of such matters, or sustainability ratings could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition
• 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

Filings

Other Consumer Discretionary companies