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Darden Restaurants

DRI
63
Restaurants · Consumer Cyclical
Also trades as: 0I77.L
Winston Score
63
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through May 31, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Exceptional
Growth
Strong
Cash Flow
Strong
Stability
Good
Valuation
Good
Dividends
Good

Winston Score History

The full picture

Darden Restaurants owns and operates a large portfolio of full-service restaurant chains across the United States and Canada. Its most well-known brands include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and fine dining chains like The Capital Grille and Eddie V's. Darden is one of the largest full-service restaurant companies in the United States, serving everyday diners as well as customers looking for a more upscale meal.

Darden makes money by selling food and drinks directly to customers at its restaurants, which it mostly owns and operates rather than franchises. The company runs over 1,900 locations, almost entirely in North America, and its scale gives it an advantage in purchasing ingredients and managing costs. The main risk Darden faces is that when the economy slows down and consumers feel financial pressure, people tend to cut back on eating out, which can hurt sales across all of its brands.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+13.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+36.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

Insider Activity

0.3%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Runway

~4 months

$220M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

→ Burn rate stable

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Cash watch

Darden Restaurants has less than a year of cash at its current burn rate. Growth investors should watch for potential share dilution from future fundraising — that directly reduces your ownership.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
116.1%
Premium pricing power — 116.1% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
13.0%
Healthy — 13.0% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
34.9%
Exceptional — 34.9% return on capital

ROIC above 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns more than 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+9.4%
Steady sales growth (+9.4% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+17.1%
Earnings growing fast (+17.1% YoY)

Healthy double-digit earnings growth — what compounders look like.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
6/8 quarters
Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
154%
Turns 154% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
5.8%
Thin free cash flow (5.8%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
1.06
Elevated debt (1.06)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
8.15x
Comfortably covers interest (8.2x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
21.2x
no trend
Growth-priced — P/E 21.2

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+5.4
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (21.2 → 15.8)

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
3.12%
no trend
Moderate income — 3.12% yield

Standard yield zone for stable dividend payers. A meaningful piece of total return.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+7.4%
no trend
Dividend growing modestly (7.4% YoY)

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