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DRDRI

Darden Restaurants, Inc.

$DRI·$23B·Restaurants·Consumer Cyclical
$205.60+3.0%YTD+11.4%1Y+11.1%
Price updated 12h ago·X counts updated 3d ago
DRDRI
$DRIDarden Restaurants, Inc.
$205.60+3.00%43 posts1×
AI analysisFundamentalsVoices on X
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On X

The complete picture of $DRI on X — how loud the conversation is right now, how it has trended over the last two weeks, and which way the crowd is leaning.

43X posts · last 7 days
Sep 28Oct 11
Chatter Meter
1×
QuietNormal · 1×Loud

How loud $DRI's conversation on X is versus its own normal — 1× is typical, higher means busier. Right now it's about its usual level.

Bullish sentimentAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data12 posts analyzed · as of 2026-07-02

Darden Restaurants beats Q4 EPS ($3.66 vs $3.64 expected) with 13.7% total sales growth and hikes dividend 8%. CEO Cardenas cites resilient consumer spending across all income quintiles. Some bears note the 53rd-week boost inflates growth, and FY27 guide of 3% LFL is soft, but bullish tone dominates.

Read what X is saying about $DRI

  • Bullish vs bearish call — with the AI summary of the day's posts
  • Divergence flag when the top-engagement posts argue the other side
  • How loud the conversation is versus this ticker's own normal
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AI verdictAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

TickerTalks' own read on what's driving $DRI — fundamentals, momentum, or an event — and whether it agrees with the X crowd.

Proven numbersWinding up for a moveAI verdict · as of 2026-10-03

Trading in a tight range and building pressure — a move looks likely soon, but the direction isn't clear yet.

Darden delivered a 13% top-line but guided FY27 LFL at a modest 3% — the quality compounder with a muted next 12 months.

Darden Restaurants has strung together six quarters of near-perfect execution — Q1 FY27 EPS of $2.05 was in-line, Q4 beat $3.63 by less than 1%, Q3 beat by 0.3%, Q2 missed by 1%, Q1 at $1.75 beat by 7% — but the 13.7% total sales growth was flattered by the 53rd week, and FY27 same-store guide of 3% is lukewarm.

  • Revenue growth of 6-10% YoY across the last four quarters reflects a strong demand backdrop at Olive Garden, LongHorn, and the fine-dining brands, with CEO Cardenas framing resilient consumer spending across all income quintiles.
  • At $200.33 and 52% of the 52-week range, the forward multiple on fiscal 2027 EPS of $11.40 is 17.6x — in-line with the restaurant-quality cohort, cushioned by a 2.6% dividend yield and a well-covered 8% dividend hike.
  • Insider activity is standard governance (director awards, small gifts, no S-Sales) — this is the quiet compounder profile where the operating signal matters more than any insider cue.

The December 17 Q2 fiscal 2027 earnings is the next catalyst, but there is no high-conviction setup here — the stock is priced for the current compounding and the FY27 guide, with upside tied to any inflection in Olive Garden LFL above the 3% band.

Agrees with X sentimentX is bullish on Darden's resilient-consumer narrative while flagging the FY27 LFL guide as soft; the TickerTalks read agrees — the operating business is excellent but the next 12 months require inflection on LFL for the stock to meaningfully re-rate.

What to watch: December 17 Q2 fiscal 2027 earnings and Olive Garden LFL trajectory; LongHorn Steakhouse comps; any update on the Chuy's acquisition integration and margin recovery.

On the calendar: Q2 fiscal 2027 earnings scheduled 2026-12-17

Read the AI verdict on $DRI

  • One-line verdict on what's driving the move — fundamentals, momentum, both, or an event
  • Next dated catalyst when there is one (earnings, deal closing, activist clock)
  • Whether TickerTalks' read agrees with or diverges from the X crowd
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What it does

Plain-English summary of the business — what they sell and how they make money.

Owner-operator of 1,800+ full-service restaurants including Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse in the US and Canada.

Industry overviewAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Where Restaurants sits in its cycle right now — and what that implies for $DRI.

Restaurants · Consumer Cyclical

No material change from last week — Value-trade-down sustains QSR at casual dining's expense.

What this means for $DRI

Neutral — Darden Restaurants, Inc; exposure to the industry macro driver is limited or indirect.

Industry benchmark

18-name peer basket
+2.8%YTD
-6.5%1Y

Fundamentals & catalyst

Profitability, valuation, and the next earnings event — at a glance, with rule-of-thumb signals.

Key ratios

P/E
22.1How much investors are paying per dollar of profit the company actually earned in the last 12 months. Lower means the stock looks cheaper relative to earnings.~15–25 is typical for the S&P 500; high-growth names trade 30+; hyper-growth or speculative can be 100+ or negative.
ROIC
12.4%What percentage return the business earns on every dollar of capital (equity + debt) deployed in operations. The cleanest measure of business quality.Above ~15% is high-quality; consistently above 25% suggests a real moat. Below the company's cost of capital is value-destroying.
Op margin
11.6%Operating profit (after sales, marketing, R&D, and overhead but before interest and taxes) as a percentage of revenue. The clearest view of how well the underlying business is run.Mature business above 20% is healthy; software businesses can run 30%+; commodity / retail businesses operate in single digits.
FCF yield
6.5%Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capex) divided by the company's market cap. The cash-on-cash return you'd get owning the whole business at today's price.Above ~5% is attractive; below ~2% means you're paying up for growth. Capital-light businesses (software) run higher than capital-heavy ones (utilities).
P/S
1.9Same idea as P/E but per dollar of revenue. Useful for companies that aren't profitable yet, where P/E is meaningless.Under ~2 is cheap; software / SaaS often runs 8–15; well above 20 implies the market is pricing in very high future growth.
ROE
50.7%Net income as a percentage of shareholders' equity. Similar to ROIC but counts only the equity side.Above 20% is strong, but can be inflated by leverage — a heavily indebted company can show high ROE with weak underlying ROIC.
Gross margin
44.0%Revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, as a percentage of revenue. The first read on whether the product is structurally profitable.Software / SaaS is typically 70%+; consumer goods 30–50%; commodity / hardware businesses can be under 20%.
D/E
2.9Total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how much the business runs on borrowed money versus owner capital.Under 1 is conservative; 1–2 is typical for mature businesses; over 2 is leveraged and more sensitive to interest rates.

Past earnings

QuarterReportedActualEstimateSurprise
Q2 2026Sep 24, 2026$2.05$2.050.0%
Q1 2026Jun 25, 2026$3.66$3.63+0.8%
Q4 2025Mar 19, 2026$2.95$2.94+0.3%
Q3 2025Dec 18, 2025$2.08$2.10-1.0%
Next earningsThu, Dec 17·consensus EPS $2.28

Quarterly trend

QuarterRevenueYoYGrossOpEPSFCF
Q3 FY26$3.3B+5.9%18.0%13.2%$2.66$623.3M
Q2 FY26$3.1B+7.3%68.9%10.3%$2.05$494.8M
Q1 FY26$3.0B+10.4%69.5%11.1%$2.21$162.9M
Q4 FY25$3.3B+10.6%23.4%11.7%$2.59$284.4M

Forward consensus

10-year forecast · up to 21 analysts
FYRevenueRangeEPSRangeAnalysts
FY26$13.2B$13.2B – $13.2B$10.63$10.58 – $10.6719
FY26$13.2B$13.2B – $13.2B$10.63$10.58 – $10.6720
FY27$13.7B$13.6B – $13.8B$11.40$11.20 – $11.6220
FY27$13.7B$13.7B – $13.8B$11.27$11.15 – $11.3521
FY28$14.5B$14.5B – $14.5B$12.57$12.25 – $13.2818
FY28$14.5B$14.4B – $14.8B$12.40$12.07 – $12.7721
FY29$15.5B$15.5B – $15.5B$14.23$13.36 – $15.084
FY29$15.4B$15.2B – $15.5B$13.55$13.05 – $14.0810
FY30$16.4B$16.2B – $16.5B$15.81$15.66 – $16.032
FY30$16.4B$16.2B – $16.5B$14.46$14.30 – $14.615

Setup & momentum

Volume, range, and moving-average position — the technical setup driving short-term moves.

Right now

Vol vs 30dToday's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.0.9×Today's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.
52w rangeWhere the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.50%Where the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.
vs 50d MALatest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.-4.4%Latest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.
vs 200d MALatest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.-1.6%Latest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.

Float & profile

FloatMid float · 113.7M shFree-float shares — the slice of issued stock actually available to trade. Lower buckets squeeze harder on a catalyst.Traded today0.9% of floatToday's volume as a percent of the free float. Above 5% on a single day is unusually high turnover for the available share count.β0.625-year weekly beta vs the S&P 500. Above 1.5 means the stock typically moves more than the index; below 0.8 moves less.

Insider activity

Recent open-market buys and sells by officers and directors — flagged when multiple insiders cluster.

Recent transactions

SellOct 6Martin Melvin JohnPresident2.2K sh$448KSellAug 5John W. WilkersonPresident8.9K sh$1.8MSellJul 31Laura B WilliamsonPresident1.6K sh$318KSellJul 29Rajesh VennamCFO8.5K sh$1.8MSellJul 29Sarah H. KingSVP, Chief People Officer1.5K sh$314KSellJul 29Susan M. ConnellySVP, Chief Comm & PA Officer2.2K sh$463KSellJul 28Ricardo CardenasCEO39.1K sh$8.2MSellJul 7Susan M. ConnellySVP, Chief Comm & PA Officer9.9K sh$2.0MSellApr 17Douglas J. MilanesSVP, Chief Supply Chain Ofcr3.6K sh$732K
+ 65 other (34 awards · 19 exempts · 10 inkinds · 2 gifts) in window

See when $DRI insiders are putting their own money in

  • Real-time open-market buys and sells from Form 4 filings
  • Cluster-buy detection when multiple insiders pile in at once
  • 30 / 60 / 180-day windows so you can spot building conviction
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SEC filings

Material 8-K, 13D, S-3, and 424B5 events from the last 180 days — the filings that actually move the price.

Recent material filings

8-KShareholder voteSep 248-K — Item 5.07: Shareholder vote
AI summary

DRI (DRI) filed an 8-K on 2026-09-24 reporting results of a submission of matters to a vote of security holders (Item 5.07). The excerpt contains only the filing cover page; the full vote tallies are in the body. Shareholder votes ratify board elections, auditor selection, executive compensation, and other governance matters — significant if any item failed or passed narrowly.

8-KCharter amendmentJun 258-K — Item 2.02: Earnings release · Item 5.03: Charter amendment
AI summary

Darden Restaurants reported fiscal Q4 and full-year 2026 results on June 25, 2026, also announcing a new $1.5 billion share repurchase authorization and an increase to its quarterly dividend, alongside fiscal 2027 guidance. The Board also approved bylaw amendments on June 24, 2026, including raising the shareholder aggregation limit for director nominations from 10 to 20 shareholders and addressing universal proxy rules. No specific revenue or EPS figures appear in the 8-K body — all in the attached press release. The buyback authorization and dividend raise signal management confidence; fiscal 2027 guidance is the key investor data point.

+ 9 other (3 13Gs · 2 proxys · 1 10-Q · 1 earnings 8-K) in window

Recent news

Latest headlines from major outlets, sourced and timestamped — context for whatever just moved.

Dividend Champion, Contender, And Challenger Highlights: Week October 4seekingalpha.com·12d agoBetter Dividend Bet: DRI or SBUX? The Cash Flow Numbers Reveal a Clear Winner247wallst.com·17d agoDarden Restaurants Serves Up Fresh Catalysts for a Stock Price Rallymarketbeat.com·18d agoDarden Is Winning Share, but One Analyst Says the Stock Is Already Fairly Pricedbenzinga.com·19d agoDarden: Don't Expect Much Out Of The Stockseekingalpha.com·19d ago

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Voices on X · last 7 days

No standout posts about $DRI on X in the last 7 days.

TickerTalks is a research tool, not financial advice. We surface social-attention data; we do not make stock recommendations. Past attention is not predictive of future price movements.

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