DRI vs EAT Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Darden Restaurants and Brinker International both operate in casual dining, but Darden runs a larger, more diversified multi-brand portfolio across different dining segments, while Brinker operates a smaller, more focused portfolio currently centered on turnaround initiatives around menu simplification and value.
Darden offers diversified exposure across a portfolio of established casual and fine dining brands, while Brinker offers a more concentrated turnaround bet tied to menu simplification and value positioning execution. Consider whether you prefer Darden's diversification or Brinker's turnaround upside potential.
EAT holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. EAT leads on both 1-year return (+42.07%) and forward P/E quality (15.89x vs 17.41x for DRI), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. DRI leads on both revenue growth (13.70%) and operating margin (14.14%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for EAT (+15.83%) than for DRI (+6.98%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to a diversified multi-brand casual and fine dining portfolio
- Believe scale advantages support consistent purchasing and operational efficiency
- Value strong brand recognition supporting customer traffic
- Are comfortable with consumer discretionary spending sensitivity to economic conditions
- Want exposure to a casual dining turnaround story centered on menu simplification and value
- Believe recent same-restaurant sales improvement reflects durable turnaround progress
- Value off-premise and digital ordering channel growth as an incremental sales driver
- Are comfortable with less brand diversification relative to larger multi-concept peers
| Metric | DRI | EAT |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 52.7 | 49.5 |
| AI ranki | #361 | #548 |
| Latest closei | $212.92 | $222.49 |
| 1M returni | -0.39% | -1.20% |
| 6M returni | +4.64% | +59.13% |
| 1Y returni | +1.01% | +42.07% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | DRI | EAT |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.05K (+0.5%) started 2025-09-09 | $14.21K (+42.1%) started 2025-09-08 |
| 5Y ago | $18.59K (+85.9%) started 2021-09-10 | $42.27K (+322.7%) started 2021-09-08 |
| 10Y ago | $57.25K (+472.5%) started 2016-09-12 | $55.27K (+452.7%) started 2016-09-08 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | DRI | EAT |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $24.48B | $9.62B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 20.65 | 21.18 |
| Forward P/Ei | 17.41 | 15.89 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 2.45 | 1.94 |
| Analyst targeti | $230.68 | $266.67 |
| Target upsidei | +6.98% | +15.83% |
| Metric | DRI | EAT |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 13.70% | 5.10% |
| Earnings growthi | 36.00% | 29.40% |
| EPS growthi | +36.00% | +29.40% |
| FCF margini | +5.99% | +6.33% |
| Operating margini | 14.14% | 11.26% |
| Profit margini | 9.13% | 8.39% |
| ROIC proxyi | 53.72% | 119.57% |
| Return on equityi | 53.72% | 119.57% |
| Dividend yieldi | 3.07% | N/A |
| Betai | 0.58 | 1.26 |
| Debt/equityi | 364.51 | 395.76 |
| Current ratioi | 0.31 | 0.46 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.12 | 0.28 |
Over the past year, DRI and EAT have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.48), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | DRI | EAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +0.51% | +42.07% |
| CAGRi | +0.51% | +42.10% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.48% | 49.22% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.01 | 0.87 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.01 | 1.37 | |
| Max drawdowni | 20.71% | 35.65% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.48% | 12.38% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.55% | 11.41% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 9.90% | 14.32% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.69% | 7.47% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.11% | 16.75% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +62.50% | +322.74% |
| CAGRi | +10.20% | +33.42% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.16% | 48.99% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.33 | 0.74 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.48 | 1.10 | |
| Max drawdowni | 28.38% | 58.44% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.48% | 12.38% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.16% | 22.88% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 11.35% | 27.10% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.79% | 14.93% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 18.89% | 26.35% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +332.59% | +382.04% |
| CAGRi | +15.79% | +17.04% | |
| Volatilityi | 36.04% | 55.34% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.46 | 0.48 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.69 | 0.72 | |
| Max drawdowni | 72.80% | 84.94% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.48% | 12.38% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.54% | 28.38% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.86% | 34.55% | |
| Max daily dropi | 24.66% | 38.81% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 51.35% | 67.60% |
| Category | DRI | EAT |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Darden Restaurants, Inc. | Brinker International, Inc. |
| Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Consumer Cyclical |
| Industry | Restaurants | Restaurants |
| Core business | A multi-brand casual and fine dining restaurant company operating a portfolio of well-known restaurant chains across different dining segments in the United States. | A casual dining restaurant company operating a smaller portfolio of restaurant brands, with a particular focus on turnaround initiatives around menu simplification and value positioning. |
| Investor focus | Same-restaurant sales growth across its brand portfolio, off-premise and to-go sales mix, and margin trends relative to labor and food cost inflation. | Same-restaurant sales trends reflecting turnaround progress, menu simplification and value positioning execution, and margin improvement relative to labor and food costs. |
- Diversified multi-brand portfolio spans different casual and fine dining segments, reducing reliance on any single concept
- Scale across its restaurant portfolio provides purchasing and operational efficiency advantages
- Strong brand recognition across its portfolio supports consistent customer traffic relative to smaller independent competitors
- Menu simplification and value positioning initiatives have supported recent same-restaurant sales improvement
- Focused brand portfolio allows for concentrated management attention on turnaround execution
- Off-premise and digital ordering channel growth has provided incremental sales beyond traditional dine-in traffic
- Casual dining industry faces ongoing competition from fast-casual concepts and food delivery alternatives
- Labor and food cost inflation can pressure margins between menu pricing adjustments
- Consumer discretionary spending on dining out can be sensitive to broader economic conditions
- Smaller brand portfolio relative to larger multi-concept peers provides less diversification against any single concept's underperformance
- Turnaround initiatives require sustained execution to translate into durable long-term same-restaurant sales growth
- Casual dining industry faces ongoing competition from fast-casual concepts and food delivery alternatives
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.