DRI
DARDEN RESTAURANTS INCEvidence as of 2026-09-02Overview · DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC
Darden Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brands. Darden Restaurants, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is based in Orlando, Florida.
Management team
- Ms. Sarah H. King · Senior VP & Chief People OfficerFind on LinkedIn
- Mr. Douglas J. Milanes · Senior VP & Chief Supply Chain OfficerFind on LinkedIn
- Ms. Susan M. Connelly · Senior VP and Chief Communications & Public Affairs OfficerFind on LinkedIn
- Mr. Daniel J. Kiernan · President of Olive GardenFind on LinkedIn
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Links open LinkedIn searches, not verified profiles. Team data from our market-data vendor's company profile.
Moneyta sentiment
Where the published evidence leans after the desk debated it — not a rating or a recommendation.
+0.1 on a −2 to +2 scale.
What builds the score
Solid bars are analyst rubric scores; faded bars are computed directly from data. Claims dropped in debate count for nothing; weakened claims count at half weight.
Editor's note
Written after the debate settled — the rest of the page is the evidence behind it.
The evidence balance is Mixed (+0.1 of a possible +2; confidence high). Revenue from contracts rose quarter-over-quarter across the recent fiscal quarters to USD 3,345,300,000 in the quarter ended 22 Feb 2026, up from USD 3,102,100,000 (23 Nov 2025) and USD 3,044,700,000 (24 Aug 2025). Gross profit expanded to USD 703,600,000 in the quarter ended 22 Feb 2026 (gross margin ≈ 21.1%) from USD 581,300,000 (≈ 18.7%) in the quarter ended 23 Nov 2025 and USD 574,300,000 (≈ 18.9%) in the quarter ended 24 Aug 2025.
Operating income and net income both increased in the quarter ended 22 Feb 2026 versus the prior quarter — operating income was USD 406,400,000 (22 Feb 2026) versus USD 320,400,000 (23 Nov 2025), and net income was USD 306,800,000 (22 Feb 2026) versus USD 237,200,000 (23 Nov 2025). Diluted EPS rose to USD 2.65 (22 Feb 2026) from USD 2.03 (23 Nov 2025) while weighted-average diluted shares outstanding declined to 115,800,000 (22 Feb 2026) from 116,700,000 (23 Nov 2025) and 117,600,000 (24 Aug 2025).
How this note was made
every stage ran before the note was writtenAnalyst desk
Mercer, Oakes, Nash, Ellis, Yates, Talbot and Archer. The desk: named AI agents, not people. Each reads one slice of the evidence and nothing else — no outside knowledge, no browsing — so every finding traces to a source you can open.
Reads the XBRL figures companies file with the SEC — revenue, margins, income, debt and share count, quarter by quarter — and reports which way the trend is running.
Revenue from contracts rose quarter-over-quarter across the most recent fiscal quarters: USD 3,044,700,000 in the quarter ended 24 Aug 2025, USD 3,102,100,000 in the quarter ended 23 Nov 2025, and USD 3,345,300,000 in the quarter ended 22 Feb 2026.
XBRL companyfacts · 0000940944-25-000054Gross profit and gross margin expanded in the most recent quarter: gross profit increased from USD 574,300,000 (quarter ended 24 Aug 2025) and USD 581,300,000 (quarter ended 23 Nov 2025) to USD 703,600,000 (quarter ended 22 Feb 2026), which corresponds to gross margins of approximately 18.9% (574.3/3,044.7), 18.7% (581.3/3,102.1) and 21.1% (703.6/3,345.3) respectively.
XBRL companyfacts · 0000940944-25-000054Reads the filings themselves, above all the year-over-year diff of Item 1A risk factors: which risks a company added, dropped or quietly reworded since its last annual report.
Which filings the desk reads
The desk reads the annual 10-K in full — its risk factors, and how they changed since last year. Quarterly 10-Qs and event filings (8-Ks, insider Form 4s) are listed for context but not read line by line: the 10-K is where the material risk disclosures live. A brand-new company, or one we have only just begun tracking, may have no annual report on file yet — its risk analysis fills in once that lands.
The definitive proxy statement for DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC for the 2026 annual meeting was filed on 2026-08-10.
DEF 14A filed 2026-08-10A Notice of Annual Meeting / preliminary proxy materials for the 2026 annual meeting was filed on 2026-08-10.
DEFA14A filed 2026-08-10Reads the signal panel above — momentum, volatility, drawdown, relative strength and beta — and ranks each against the whole research universe rather than judging it in isolation.
Beta vs SPY is 0.19 and correlation vs SPY is 0.09, indicating low sensitivity and low contemporaneous correlation with the broad market on the measurement date.
Moneyta signal set · 2026-09-01Shorter-term momentum readings are mixed: 3-month momentum is +8.7%, 6-month momentum is +3.2%, and the 12_1 momentum is +4.7%, with 6-month momentum at the 44th percentile and 12_1 momentum at the 39th percentile of the 547-stock research universe.
Moneyta signal set · 2026-09-01weakened in debateReads which funds hold the name and at what weight, plus insider Form 4 filings, to show the exposure you may already carry through index funds.
Reported institutional ownership value totaled "$21.48B" as of 2026-03-31, and 13F-reported holdings showed a quarter-over-quarter value change of 3.6%.
13F holdings · 1027 filers · as of 2026-03-31Capital World Investors was listed as a top holder with "$2.93B" and BlackRock, Inc. with "$1.89B" in the 13F data as of 2026-03-31.
13F holdings · 1027 filers · as of 2026-03-31Reads recent headlines that are genuinely about this company, ignoring rating chatter and market-wide stories. Findings argue in the debate but never move the sentiment score.
A Darden Restaurants director converted 150 restricted stock units to common shares, reported 1 September 2026.
News · kalkinemedia.com · 2026-09-01Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its Darden Restaurants position by 43.3% during the second quarter, reported 30 August 2026.
News · thelincolnianonline.com · 2026-08-30Reads parsed Forms 3/4/5 — who bought or sold, at what size, and whether a 10b5-1 plan was involved. Flags clustered open-market officer buying; treats plan sales as routine and never counts a fund or 10%-holder as an officer.
Ricardo Cardenas (President and CEO) reported four open-market sales totaling about "$8.2M" (3,801; 7,241; 12,802; 15,290 shares) on 28 July 2026 and also reported a separate 'code M' transaction for 21,426 shares valued at "$2.4M" the same day.
Form 4 · Cardenas Ricardo (President and CEO) · $2.4M code M · 2026-07-28Rajesh Vennam (SVP, CFO) reported a sale of "8,478" shares valued at "$1.8M" on 29 July 2026 and a separate 'code M' transfer of "7,286" shares (value "$0") on 27 July 2026.
Form 4 · Vennam Rajesh (SVP, CFO) · $1.8M sold · 2026-07-29Reads the implied-expectations math built from the company's own filings (the growth rate today's price would justify, and the multiples beside it) and argues whether the market's bar looks high or low for this business. Never turns the math into a target.
Trailing twelve‑month price/earnings (P/E) is 22.43 based on EPS TTM of 9.61 and the price of 215.56.
Valuation inputs · SEC XBRL + stored EOD closeEnterprise value is 26,008,846,998 and trailing twelve‑month EV/EBITDA is 12.81, with EBITDA TTM of 2,030,900,000.
Valuation inputs · SEC XBRL + stored EOD closeDebate and risk review
A bull and a bear contest the claims and the chair rules on each; the risk review stress-tests what survived.
A bull and a bear argue the analysts' claims across two rounds, then a chair rules on each one. Only what survives feeds the score — the argument is shown, not hidden, so you can judge the reasoning yourself.
The quarter-level operating data show sequential top-line and margin improvement alongside rising operating income, net income, and EPS (fundamentals-0, fundamentals-1, fundamentals-2, fundamentals-3). Share count has been drifting lower with documented buybacks (fundamentals-4) while long-term debt materially declined between 22 Feb and 31 May 2026 (fundamentals-5), which jointly strengthen per‑share economics and balance-sheet flexibility. Market signals add context: low beta and low correlation to SPY (market-0) plus a bullish technical alignment (golden cross and price above SMAs, market-2) and a healthy dividend yield with multi-year growth (market-5) support a favorable read. Institutional and ETF holdings (ownership-0 through ownership-4) indicate persistent large-scale ownership that offsets isolated headline sales, and the street consensus shown includes multiple buy/maintain analyst stances and price targets that align with the positive fundamental moves.
Chair's verdict, claim by claim
Fragility · computed, not argued
diversified0.27
40 surviving claims rest on 23 distinct sources; the heaviest analyst carries 18% of them, and 99% of what the desk raised survived the debate.
The read rests on a moderate breadth of sources (23) supporting 40 claims, which gives it some evidence diversity but not strong redundancy — a single large source or analyst still carries noticeable influence. The fact one analyst supplies 18% of claims and 99% of raised points survived debate means the desk’s conclusions are internally consistent but somewhat sensitive to concentrated inputs and limited contradictory challenge.
Peer context · computed, not argued
12-1 momentum ranks 1st of 3 in Restaurants (as of 2026-09-01).
6-month relative strength ranks 1st of 3 in Restaurants (as of 2026-09-01).
90-day volatility ranks 2nd of 3 in Restaurants (as of 2026-09-01).
dividend yield ranks 2nd of 3 in Restaurants (as of 2026-09-01).
Disconfirming evidence · base rates · falsifiers
Context
Outside consensus, and where this name already sits in your own portfolio.
Third-party consensus shown for context. It never enters Moneyta sentiment — when the two diverge, the debate above is where the why lives.
What this was built from
Every figure on this page traces to one of these. The desk reads only what is listed here — no outside knowledge, no browsing — and each card shows who read it and what it contributed to the score.
14 filings· 1 cited
SEC XBRL filings
Quarterly figures as filed with the SEC, read straight from EDGAR's structured data — not retyped or estimated.
Read by Mercer+1.5 to the score
10 documents· 2 cited
SEC filing documents
The filings themselves, including the year-over-year comparison of Item 1A risk factors.
Read by Oakes+0.0 to the score
1 signal set
Moneyta signal set
Computed from our own end-of-day price history and ranked against the whole research universe. No AI involved.
Read by Nash+0.0 to the score
3 holdings records· 1 cited
Fund holdings
Which funds hold this name and at what weight, plus insider Form 4 filings.
Read by Ellis+0.8 to the score
6 headlines· 2 cited
News coverage
Recent headlines about this company, rating chatter excluded and nothing published after the report date.
Read by Yatesnothing survived
12 filings· 2 cited
Insider filings
Parsed Forms 3/4/5 from EDGAR: named insiders, share counts, prices, and 10b5-1 plan state — stated and inferred flags kept apart.
Read by Talbot−1.7 to the score
1 computation
Valuation inputs
TTM cash-flow figures from the company's own XBRL filings, priced with the stored closing price. Implied growth and multiples only; no fair-value dollar figure reaches the desk, by design.
Read by Archercontext only
1 record· 0 cited
Company profile
Sector, industry and company details.
1 record· 0 cited
Analyst consensus
Third-party consensus, shown for context only — it never enters Moneyta sentiment.
Read means we pulled and handed it to an analyst; cited means a claim on this page points at it. Reading twelve quarters to state one trend is normal — the gap is shown rather than hidden.
Written by AI, checked against sources
The analysts, the bull–bear debate and the editor's note are AI agents reading only the evidence listed on this page. They can misread a filing or a headline, which is why every claim cites a source you can open and check yourself. The sentiment score is arithmetic over the claims that survived the debate, not a language model's opinion.
Educational analysis of published data. Moneyta does not give investment advice or make recommendations. Past patterns do not indicate future results.
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Educational analysis of published data. Moneyta does not give investment advice or make recommendations.