Darden Restaurants

DRI · NYSE · Consumer Discretionary · Financials, fiscal 2017 to 2026

DRI · Last close · October 26, 2026

$213.25

Darden Restaurants' revenue rose 9.4% to $13.2 billion in fiscal 2026. Its operating margin was 12.0%, up from 11.3% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $1.1 billion, up 5.3%. It paid out $1.4 billion in dividends and buybacks, 122% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 1.8%.

DARDEN RESTAURANTS, INC. Latest fiscal year ended May 31, 2026 10-K filed July 24, 2026 · 0000940944-26-000025 Updated October 9, 2026

Revenue

$13.2B

9.4%

Operating margin

12.0%

0.7 pts

Net income

$1.2B

15.0%

Free cash flow

$1.1B

5.3%

Return on capital

24.8%

2.2 pts

Market cap

$24.4B

Oct 26 close

P/E

20.8x

On $10.23 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

What Darden Restaurants does

Darden Restaurants owns and runs full-service restaurants in the United States. On May 31, 2026, it operated 2,202 restaurants, including 949 Olive Garden and 618 LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants. Its other brands include Yard House, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Chuy's, Seasons 52 and Eddie V's. Another 167 restaurants are run by independent operators under franchise and development agreements, in the U.S. and in other countries.

Sales come mainly from food and drink. The company reports four segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining (Ruth's Chris, The Capital Grille and Eddie V's), and Other Business, which covers its remaining brands plus royalties and fees from franchised and managed restaurants. It says it does not rely on any major customers. At Olive Garden the average check was about $25.00 per person in fiscal 2026. At Yard House, alcoholic drinks made up 28.9 percent of sales.

Darden bought Chuy's in October 2024 and Ruth's Chris in June 2023. In July 2025 it sold eight Olive Garden restaurants in Canada to Recipe Unlimited, which now runs them under a franchise agreement. It decided to close about half of its Bahama Breeze restaurants in 2026 and to convert the rest to other Darden brands over 12 to 18 months. Darden became a separate public company in 1995, when General Mills distributed its stock to General Mills shareholders.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Rising costs for food, labor, health care and utilities that menu price increases may not cover.
Trouble hiring, training and keeping restaurant team members.
Food safety problems or food-borne illness concerns, and health scares such as outbreaks of flu or other diseases.
Intense competition, and weaker guest spending when the economy or consumer confidence slips.
Failing to meet its growth plans by opening or acquiring restaurants, or from problems with its franchisees.

From Darden Restaurants's annual report on Form 10-K, filed July 24, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new 10-K.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

Revenue and margins

Revenue

US$ billions, fiscal years

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2017 to 2026, earnings per share grew 11.8% a year and net income 10.8% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 8%.

Net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; loss years in red.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Cash flow

Free cash flow

US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure; negative years in red.

Payouts and share count

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Valuation

Two ways to value Darden Restaurants yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.

What Darden Restaurants says to expect

Fiscal 2027: diluted earnings per shareThe Company reaffirmed all aspects of its full year financial outlook for fiscal 2027, culminating in diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations of $11.10 to $11.35.

The company's own words, from its earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99), filed September 24, 2026. They are its expectations, not ours, and not a forecast or price target from The Filing Desk. Replaced when the next release is out.

Discounted cash flow (DCF)

A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Darden Restaurants' 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Darden Restaurants' fiscal 2026 free cash flow of $1.1B, net cash of −$3.2B at May 31, 2026 and 116 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Darden Restaurants: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 8.0% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 9% for a business of moderate risk (Restaurants); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

From the filings

Starting free cash flow, US$ millions

Cash from operations minus capital spending in fiscal 2026.

Net cash, US$ millions

Cash and short-term investments minus debt and finance leases at May 31, 2026. Negative means net debt.

Diluted shares, millions

Weighted-average diluted shares in fiscal 2026.

Your assumptions

Start from

Fitted to Darden Restaurants's own revenue growth, as above. Cautious: growth of 4% then 3% a year, 2% after year 10, a 10% discount rate. Base: growth of 8% then 5% a year, 2.5% after year 10, a 9% discount rate. Optimistic: growth of 12% then 7.5% a year, 3% after year 10, a 8% discount rate.

Free cash flow growth, years 1 to 5 (% a year)

Free cash flow growth, years 6 to 10 (% a year)

Growth after year 10 (% a year)Long-run growth forever after year 10. Usually close to inflation, and always below the discount rate.

Discount rate (% a year)The yearly return an investor wants for the risk. A higher rate gives a lower value.

Value per share on these assumptions

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $213.25
Value on these assumptions, against the last close: —

Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today: —
Everything after year 10, valued today: —
Plus net cash: —
Share of value from after year 10: —

Projected free cash flow

US$ billions. Each column is one year's projected free cash flow, split into what it is worth today and the part removed by discounting.

Value todayRemoved by discounting

How the value changes with two assumptions

Value per share in US$, with the growth rates above. The highlighted cell matches the current assumptions.

How the model works. Free cash flow grows at the first rate for five years and the second rate for five more, and each year is discounted at the discount rate. Everything after year 10 is valued as year-10 cash flow × (1 + growth after year 10) ÷ (discount rate − growth after year 10), discounted back ten years. Net cash is added and the total is divided by diluted shares. The result depends entirely on the assumptions. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation. The last close is the consolidated US closing price, from Databento.

Price-to-earnings (P/E) method

Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Darden Restaurants' earnings per share of $10.23 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 19.4×, the middle of Darden Restaurants' own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (its peers' median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 10%, 9% and 8%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

Earnings per share, US$

Diluted earnings per share over the four quarters to August 30, 2026, from the 10-Qs and 10-K.

P/E multiple

P/E today is the last close divided by the latest earnings per share, the four quarters' where available. Peers: Chipotle Mexican Grill, Yum China, Restaurant Brands International, Yum! Brands.

Earnings growth in the years ahead (% a year) Starts at Darden Restaurants' revenue growth over the last 3 years, 8.0% a year, as the base scenario does.

Earnings per share in the years ahead, US$

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5

Type your own estimate for any year; the years after it carry on at the growth rate.

Apply the multiple to earnings

A multiple on a future year's earnings gives the price then, brought back to today at the discount rate below.

Discount rate (% a year) The yearly return an investor wants for the risk, as in the cash flow model.

Value per share today at this multiple

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $213.25
Value at this multiple, against the last close: —
Darden Restaurants' P/E at the last close: 20.8×

Company	Last close	Earnings per share	P/E today
Chipotle Mexican GrillCMG	$28.41	$1.09	26.1×
Darden RestaurantsDRI	$213.25	$10.23	20.8×
Restaurant Brands InternationalQSR	$74.48	$3.72	20.0×
Yum! BrandsYUM	$149.47	$7.95	18.8×
Yum ChinaYUMC	$45.53	$2.73	16.7×

How the P/E method works. Value per share is earnings per share times the multiple. On a future year's earnings, that gives the price in that year, which is brought back to today at the discount rate: price ÷ (1 + discount rate) for each year ahead. It is quick and easy to compare across companies, but it ignores debt and cash, and earnings can swing with one-off gains and charges, so a multiple says most about steady, profitable businesses. Like the cash flow model, the result depends entirely on the assumptions you choose. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation.

Balance sheet

Fiscal year end	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
Cash and short-term investments	421	368	195	240	220
Debt incl. finance leases	1,936	2,071	2,830	3,736	3,378
Net debt (negative means net cash)	1,516	1,703	2,635	3,496	3,159
Net debt to EBITDA	1.0x	1.1x	1.5x	1.9x	1.5x
Debt to equity	0.9x	0.9x	1.3x	1.6x	1.5x
Interest coverage	28.4x	23.9x	14.1x	11.8x	12.5x
Current ratio	0.6x	0.5x	0.4x	0.4x	0.3x
Quick ratio	0.5x	0.4x	0.2x	0.3x	0.2x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, no insider bought Darden Restaurants shares on the open market, and 12 insiders sold $24.0 million.

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Oct 6, 2026	Melvin John MartinGroup President	Sold	2,209	$202.61	$447,565	Form 4
Aug 5, 2026	John W. WilkersonPresident, Olive Garden	Sold	8,864	$208.33	$1.8 million	Form 4
Jul 31, 2026	Laura B WilliamsonPresident, LongHorn Steakhouse	Sold	1,553	$204.48	$317,561	Form 4
Jul 29, 2026	Rajesh VennamSVP, CFO	Sold	8,478	$210.00	$1.8 million	Form 4
Jul 29, 2026	Sarah H. KingSVP, Chief People Officer	Sold	4,373	$210.42	$920,160	Form 4
Jul 29, 2026	Susan M. ConnellySVP, Chief Comm & PA Officer	Sold	2,226	$208.17	$463,386	Form 4
Jul 28, 2026	Ricardo CardenasPresident and CEO, Director	Sold	39,134	$209.07	$8.2 million	Form 4
Jul 7, 2026	Susan M. ConnellySVP, Chief Comm & PA Officer	Sold	9,930	$206.21	$2.0 million	Form 4
Apr 17, 2026	Douglas J. MilanesSVP, Chief Supply Chain Ofcr	Sold	3,620	$202.17	$731,855	Form 4
Apr 7, 2026	Lindsay L. KorenSVP General Counsel	Sold	300	$194.32	$58,296	Form 4
Apr 6, 2026	Melvin John MartinGroup President	Sold	5,091	$196.04	$998,040	Form 4
Mar 23, 2026	William S SimonDirector	Sold	2,333	$200.64	$468,093	Form 4

The latest 12 of 19 trades. Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Piotroski F-score

The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Test	FY24	FY25	FY26
Net income is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Pass	Fail	Pass
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Fail	Fail	Pass
Current ratio rose	Fail	Pass	Fail
Share count didn't rise	Pass	Pass	Pass
Gross margin rose	Pass	Pass	Fail
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Fail	Fail
F-score	7 of 9	6 of 9	6 of 9
Accruals ratio	−5.5%	−5.5%	−5.1%

The accruals ratio is net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets.

Compare

Put Darden Restaurants side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
Darden Restaurants	FY26	9.4%	12.0%	8.5%	24.8%	1.5x	6
Chipotle Mexican Grill	FY25	5.4%	16.2%	12.1%	73.7%	−0.5x	4	Compare
Yum China	FY25	4.4%	10.9%	7.1%	—	—	—	Compare
Restaurant Brands International	FY25	12.2%	23.3%	15.4%	9.0%	5.0x	6	Compare
Yum! Brands	FY25	8.8%	31.3%	19.9%	54.8%	4.1x	6	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score above.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
Income statement
Revenue	7,170	8,080	8,510	7,807	7,196	9,630	10,488	11,390	12,077	13,211
Revenue growth	3.4%	12.7%	5.3%	−8.3%	−7.8%	33.8%	8.9%	8.6%	6.0%	9.4%
Gross profit	1,330	1,493	1,594	1,170	1,402	1,902	1,991	2,290	2,473	2,682
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	678	767	832	48	649	1,162	1,202	1,314	1,362	1,583
Net income	479	596	713	−52	629	953	982	1,028	1,050	1,207
Diluted EPS (US$)	3.80	4.73	5.69	−0.43	4.77	7.39	7.99	8.51	8.86	10.38
Diluted shares (millions)	126	126	125	123	132	129	123	121	118	116
Cash flow
Cash from operations	916	1,020	1,268	717	1,194	1,265	1,553	1,622	1,707	1,853
Capital expenditure	293	396	452	460	255	377	565	601	645	734
Free cash flow	623	624	816	258	939	888	988	1,020	1,062	1,119
Dividends paid	279	314	371	322	203	563	590	628	658	693
Share buybacks	230	235	208	330	45	1,071	459	454	418	672
Acquisitions	764	40	0	56	0	0	0	701	614	0
Stock-based compensation	41	43	60	53	72	60	68	68	79	79
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	233	147	457	763	1,215	421	368	195	240	220
Debt incl. finance leases	937	926	928	1,573	1,492	1,936	2,071	2,830	3,736	3,378
Total assets	5,292	5,470	5,893	9,946	10,656	10,136	10,242	11,323	12,587	12,862
Total liabilities	3,191	3,275	3,500	7,615	7,843	7,938	8,040	9,080	10,276	10,655
Shareholders' equity	2,102	2,195	2,393	2,331	2,813	2,198	2,202	2,242	2,311	2,208
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	18.5%	18.5%	18.7%	15.0%	19.5%	19.8%	19.0%	20.1%	20.5%	20.3%
Operating margin	9.4%	9.5%	9.8%	0.6%	9.0%	12.1%	11.5%	11.5%	11.3%	12.0%
Net margin	6.7%	7.4%	8.4%	−0.7%	8.8%	9.9%	9.4%	9.0%	8.7%	9.1%
Free cash flow margin	8.7%	7.7%	9.6%	3.3%	13.0%	9.2%	9.4%	9.0%	8.8%	8.5%
Return on capital	20.8%	26.4%	26.2%	1.3%	20.8%	29.8%	27.7%	26.2%	22.6%	24.8%
Return on equity	23.6%	27.7%	31.1%	−2.2%	24.5%	38.0%	44.6%	46.2%	46.1%	53.4%
Return on assets	9.7%	11.1%	12.6%	−0.7%	6.1%	9.2%	9.6%	9.5%	8.8%	9.5%
Net debt to EBITDA	0.7x	0.7x	0.4x	2.0x	0.3x	1.0x	1.1x	1.5x	1.9x	1.5x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: Darden Restaurants' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Darden Restaurants.