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 (+47.12%) and forward P/E quality (12.56x 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 (+40.52%) 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 | 54.4 | 51.2 |
| AI ranki | #274 | #465 |
| Latest closei | $212.40 | $187.29 |
| 1M returni | -0.60% | -9.61% |
| 3M returni | +8.20% | -4.17% |
| 6M returni | +5.64% | +39.64% |
| 1Y returni | +13.33% | +47.12% |
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 | $11.39K (+13.9%) started 2025-10-23 | $14.84K (+48.4%) started 2025-10-27 |
| 5Y ago | $18.93K (+89.3%) started 2021-10-25 | $43.5K (+335.0%) started 2021-10-26 |
| 10Y ago | $55.73K (+457.3%) started 2016-10-24 | $51.17K (+411.7%) started 2016-10-26 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | DRI | EAT |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $24.48B | $7.65B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 20.65 | 16.81 |
| Forward P/Ei | 17.41 | 12.56 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 2.45 | 1.60 |
| Analyst targeti | $230.68 | $256.73 |
| Target upsidei | +6.98% | +40.52% |
| 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% | 0.00% |
| Payout ratioi | 59.42% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| 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 | +13.91% | +48.42% |
| CAGRi | +13.93% | +48.62% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.55% | 49.79% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.45 | 0.96 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.65 | 1.51 | |
| Max drawdowni | 15.12% | 28.05% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.71% | 26.24% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.15% | 10.42% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.15% | 13.17% | |
| Max daily dropi | 4.72% | 7.47% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 9.57% | 16.75% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +66.78% | +334.96% |
| CAGRi | +10.78% | +34.19% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.25% | 48.83% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.35 | 0.76 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.51 | 1.12 | |
| Max drawdowni | 26.96% | 50.66% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.71% | 26.24% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.81% | 17.31% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 10.95% | 21.02% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.79% | 14.93% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 18.89% | 26.35% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +325.93% | +346.27% |
| CAGRi | +15.60% | +16.14% | |
| Volatilityi | 36.15% | 55.48% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.46 | 0.47 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.68 | 0.69 | |
| Max drawdowni | 72.80% | 84.94% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.71% | 26.24% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.63% | 28.59% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.90% | 34.64% | |
| 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
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