NYSE · DRI

Darden Restaurants, Inc.

Consumer Cyclical · Restaurants

$207.65▼ 0.85% ($1.77)at close

After hours$206.75▼ 0.43%7:38 PM ET

52-week

$169.00$229.76

Market cap

$23.78B

P/E

19.82

Volume

1.01M

Shares outstanding

114.54M

What the market price implies · Reverse DCF

To support a price of $207.65, this model requires Stage 1 FCFF to grow by 11.89%/yr over the next 5 years, compounded annually.

Historical FCFF grew by 5.52%/yr over the past 10 years. The required annual growth rate is 6.37 percentage points higher.

Selected forecast · Base scenario

5.52%/yr · Stage 1 default · years 1–5

Annual overrides take precedence over the Stage 1 default.

Market-implied · Other assumptions held fixed

11.89%/yr · Stage 1 · years 1–5

Stage 1 growth is solved while Stage 2 growth, terminal growth, discount inputs, and annual overrides remain fixed. This is a model-implied requirement, not an analyst forecast.

Valuation

Recommended · Cash-flow DCF

Price used

$207.65

Estimated value / share

$154.08

Base scenario

This estimate is 25.8% below the price used.

USD · TTM ending 2026-05-31

Reported total debt includes capitalised leases (~61% of the total). They are excluded from net debt and from the WACC weights because rent is already charged inside operating income. The Net Debt shown here is therefore lower than the balance-sheet figure elsewhere on this page.

Stage 1 5.52% · Stage 2 3.5% · Discount rate 8.08%

Assumption scenarios, not statistical confidence intervals.

Method, dates & sources

Estimated from future free cash flow, discounted to its value today.

Price timestamp: Sep 10, 2026, 8:00 PM UTC
Financial statement period: TTM ending 2026-05-31
Data refreshed: Sep 11, 2026, 2:42 AM UTC · provider

Why this method?

FCFF is positive, stable, long-lived, and the business looks mature enough that a direct FCFF DCF can use historical cash flow as the anchor.

Is FCFF positive and has it been for 3+ consecutive years? 6 consecutive positive FCFF years are available.

Is FCFF stable (not swinging >30% year to year)? The largest recent FCFF swing is 19.2%.

Do you have 5+ years of positive FCFF history? 6 consecutive positive FCFF years are available.

Is the business model structurally similar to what it should be in 10 years? Revenue growth and margin behavior look mature enough for direct FCFF compounding.

Price vs Fundamentals

Why The Stock Is Moving

Mixed / unclearLow confidence

Note: The most recent financial data is over 3 months old. Metrics shown may not reflect the latest reporting period.

1Y Price: -1.86%Revenue (TTM): 9.39%FCF (TTM): 8.02%P/FCF: 71st pct

What changed

The stock fell 1.86% over the last year. Revenue grew 9.39% over the trailing twelve months. Operating margin moved from 11.28% to 11.98%. Free cash flow grew 8.02% over the trailing twelve months.

What the market seems to be pricing

The stock has moved lower against modestly improving underlying metrics. The operating data does not yet tell a clear story — the move may reflect sentiment, sector rotation, or macro factors rather than company-specific earnings power.

What would invalidate this read

Operating margin currently stands at 11.98%. A decisive move in revenue — currently up 9.39% — would be the clearest signal to resolve the ambiguity.

Performance

Return analysis

Company profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc., through its various subsidiaries, focuses on the ownership and operation of full-service dining establishments across both the United States and Canada.

CEORicardo Cardenas

SectorConsumer Cyclical

IndustryRestaurants

Employees209,931

IPO dateMay 9, 1995

https://www.darden.com

Market multiples

Forward P/E—

EV/EBITDA12.37

Enterprise value$28.91B

Stock splits

Nov 10, 2015↑ Forward

Every 8939 shares became 10000

+12%

May 2, 2002↑ Forward

Every 2 shares became 3

+50%

Profitability & growth

Revenue growth13.67%

Gross margin69.43%▲47.5ppvs FY2025

Operating margin11.98%▲0.7ppvs FY2025

ROE53.41%▲7.3ppYoY

Analyst consensus

RatingBuy

Target price$234.44▲12.90%

Buy

Hold

Sell

Analyst ratings tend to be lagging indicators. Use as one signal among many.

Earnings

Full quarter-by-quarter history of actuals vs estimates. Switch into compare mode to inspect one metric year-over-year.

Next report

Sep 24, 2026

Q3 FY26 · EPS est $2.05 · Revenue est $3.21B

View

Dividends

$6.12/shareQuarterly5yr growth streakSafe

DRI pays a dividend with a 2.95% dividend yield, 5 consecutive years of growth, growing at 18.22% annually, covered 1.6× by free cash flow.

Dividend Yield

2.95%

Annual Div / Share

$6.12

5yr CAGR

+18.22%

Doubles every ~4.1yr

Payout Ratio

57.43%

Safe

Dividend Growth Rate

3yr CAGR

+7.4%

5yr CAGR

+18.22%

10yr CAGR

+10.87%

Dividend Safety

8/10Safe

Dividend History

Annualized dividend cycles per share

YearAnnual DivYoY

2026$6.12+7.4%

2025$5.70+6.9%

2024$5.33+7.9%

2023$4.94+9.5%

2022$4.51+70.2%

2021$2.65-21.8%

2019$3.39+17.7%

Income Projection

Invest

Growth rate:

Reinvest dividends

Today

$29/yr

$2/mo

In 5 yrs

$52/yr+76%

$4/mo

In 10 yrs

$92/yr+211%

$8/mo

Today	In 5 yrs	In 10 yrs
$29/yr $2/mo	$52/yr+76% $4/mo	$92/yr+211% $8/mo

Long-range projections use a capped 12% annual growth assumption.

Yield-on-cost grows from 2.95% → 9.15% over 10yr

Analysis

Dividend Strengths

Well-covered by free cash flow

The dividend is covered 1.6× by free cash flow, indicating the company generates sufficient cash to sustain and potentially grow the payout without straining its finances.

Strong dividend growth rate

The 5-year CAGR of 18.22% meaningfully outpaces inflation, compounding real income growth for long-term holders.

Risks to Watch

No strong risk signal stands out from the latest period pair.

NYSE · DRI

Darden Restaurants, Inc.

Consumer Cyclical · Restaurants

$207.65▼ 0.85% ($1.77)at close

After hours$206.75▼ 0.43%7:38 PM ET

52-week

$169.00$229.76

Market cap

$23.78B

P/E

19.82

Volume

1.01M

Shares outstanding

114.54M

What the market price implies · Reverse DCF

To support a price of $207.65, this model requires Stage 1 FCFF to grow by 11.89%/yr over the next 5 years, compounded annually.

Historical FCFF grew by 5.52%/yr over the past 10 years. The required annual growth rate is 6.37 percentage points higher.

Selected forecast · Base scenario

5.52%/yr · Stage 1 default · years 1–5

Annual overrides take precedence over the Stage 1 default.

Market-implied · Other assumptions held fixed

11.89%/yr · Stage 1 · years 1–5

Stage 1 growth is solved while Stage 2 growth, terminal growth, discount inputs, and annual overrides remain fixed. This is a model-implied requirement, not an analyst forecast.

Valuation

Recommended · Cash-flow DCF

Price used

$207.65

Estimated value / share

$154.08

Base scenario

This estimate is 25.8% below the price used.

USD · TTM ending 2026-05-31

Stage 1 5.52% · Stage 2 3.5% · Discount rate 8.08%

Assumption scenarios, not statistical confidence intervals.

Method, dates & sources

Estimated from future free cash flow, discounted to its value today.

Price timestamp: Sep 10, 2026, 8:00 PM UTC
Financial statement period: TTM ending 2026-05-31
Data refreshed: Sep 11, 2026, 2:42 AM UTC · provider

Why this method?

FCFF is positive, stable, long-lived, and the business looks mature enough that a direct FCFF DCF can use historical cash flow as the anchor.

Is FCFF positive and has it been for 3+ consecutive years? 6 consecutive positive FCFF years are available.

Is FCFF stable (not swinging >30% year to year)? The largest recent FCFF swing is 19.2%.

Do you have 5+ years of positive FCFF history? 6 consecutive positive FCFF years are available.

Is the business model structurally similar to what it should be in 10 years? Revenue growth and margin behavior look mature enough for direct FCFF compounding.

Price vs Fundamentals

Why The Stock Is Moving

Mixed / unclearLow confidence

Note: The most recent financial data is over 3 months old. Metrics shown may not reflect the latest reporting period.

1Y Price: -1.86%Revenue (TTM): 9.39%FCF (TTM): 8.02%P/FCF: 71st pct

What changed

The stock fell 1.86% over the last year. Revenue grew 9.39% over the trailing twelve months. Operating margin moved from 11.28% to 11.98%. Free cash flow grew 8.02% over the trailing twelve months.

What the market seems to be pricing

What would invalidate this read

Operating margin currently stands at 11.98%. A decisive move in revenue — currently up 9.39% — would be the clearest signal to resolve the ambiguity.

Performance

Return analysis

Company profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc., through its various subsidiaries, focuses on the ownership and operation of full-service dining establishments across both the United States and Canada.

CEORicardo Cardenas

SectorConsumer Cyclical

IndustryRestaurants

Employees209,931

IPO dateMay 9, 1995

https://www.darden.com

Market multiples

Forward P/E—

EV/EBITDA12.37

Enterprise value$28.91B

Stock splits

Nov 10, 2015↑ Forward

Every 8939 shares became 10000

+12%

May 2, 2002↑ Forward

Every 2 shares became 3

+50%

Profitability & growth

Revenue growth13.67%

Gross margin69.43%▲47.5ppvs FY2025

Operating margin11.98%▲0.7ppvs FY2025

ROE53.41%▲7.3ppYoY

Analyst consensus

RatingBuy

Target price$234.44▲12.90%

Buy

Hold

Sell

Analyst ratings tend to be lagging indicators. Use as one signal among many.

Earnings

Full quarter-by-quarter history of actuals vs estimates. Switch into compare mode to inspect one metric year-over-year.

Next report

Sep 24, 2026

Q3 FY26 · EPS est $2.05 · Revenue est $3.21B

View

Dividends

$6.12/shareQuarterly5yr growth streakSafe

DRI pays a dividend with a 2.95% dividend yield, 5 consecutive years of growth, growing at 18.22% annually, covered 1.6× by free cash flow.

Dividend Yield

2.95%

Annual Div / Share

$6.12

5yr CAGR

+18.22%

Doubles every ~4.1yr

Payout Ratio

57.43%

Safe

Dividend Growth Rate

3yr CAGR

+7.4%

5yr CAGR

+18.22%

10yr CAGR

+10.87%

Dividend Safety

8/10Safe

Dividend History

Annualized dividend cycles per share

YearAnnual DivYoY

2026$6.12+7.4%

2025$5.70+6.9%

2024$5.33+7.9%

2023$4.94+9.5%

2022$4.51+70.2%

2021$2.65-21.8%

2019$3.39+17.7%

Income Projection

Invest

Growth rate:

Reinvest dividends

Today

$29/yr

$2/mo

In 5 yrs

$52/yr+76%

$4/mo

In 10 yrs

$92/yr+211%

$8/mo

Today	In 5 yrs	In 10 yrs
$29/yr $2/mo	$52/yr+76% $4/mo	$92/yr+211% $8/mo

Long-range projections use a capped 12% annual growth assumption.

Yield-on-cost grows from 2.95% → 9.15% over 10yr

Analysis

Dividend Strengths

Well-covered by free cash flow

The dividend is covered 1.6× by free cash flow, indicating the company generates sufficient cash to sustain and potentially grow the payout without straining its finances.

Strong dividend growth rate

The 5-year CAGR of 18.22% meaningfully outpaces inflation, compounding real income growth for long-term holders.

Risks to Watch

No strong risk signal stands out from the latest period pair.