Darden Restaurants vs McDonald's
McDonald's reported revenue of $26.9 billion in fiscal 2025, 2.0 times Darden Restaurants' $13.2 billion in fiscal 2026. Darden Restaurants' revenue grew 9.4% in its latest year, and McDonald's grew 3.7%. Darden Restaurants had an operating margin of 12.0%, against 46.1% at McDonald's. Free cash flow was $1.1 billion at Darden Restaurants and $7.2 billion at McDonald's. Their fiscal years end in different months (May 31 and December 31), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Darden Restaurants | McDonald's | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2026, May 31, 2026 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $13.2B | $26.9B |
| Revenue growth | 9.4% | 3.7% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 12.9% | 7.0% |
| Gross margin | 20.3% | — |
| Operating margin | 12.0% | 46.1% |
| Net margin | 9.1% | 31.9% |
| Free cash flow | $1.1B | $7.2B |
| Free cash flow margin | 8.5% | 26.7% |
| Return on capital | 24.8% | 25.4% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 1.5x | 3.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.4B | $7.2B |
| Change in diluted share count | −1.8% | −0.8% |
| Last close | $213.25 | $250.83 |
| P/E at the last close | 20.8× | 20.4× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $24.0 million | sold $40.5 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 of 9 | 6 of 8 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Darden RestaurantsMcDonald's
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Darden RestaurantsMcDonald's
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Darden RestaurantsMcDonald's
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Darden Restaurants and McDonald's pages.