DRI vs YUM Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Darden Restaurants and Yum Brands represent two different restaurant operating models: Darden operates a predominantly company-owned, US-concentrated casual dining brand portfolio including Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, while Yum Brands operates a predominantly franchised, globally diversified quick-service brand portfolio including KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut.
Darden offers direct operational control and US-concentrated casual dining exposure with a company-operated cost structure, while Yum Brands offers a capital-light, globally diversified franchised royalty income model. Consider whether you prefer Darden's direct-control casual dining model or Yum Brands' capital-light, internationally diversified franchise model.
DRI holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. DRI leads on both 1-year return (+13.33%) and forward P/E quality (17.41x vs 20.63x for YUM), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. On fundamentals, DRI is growing revenue faster (13.70%), while YUM maintains the higher operating margin (32.78%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for YUM (+12.66%) 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 casual dining brand portfolio concentrated in the US market
- Value Darden's direct operational control over execution, pricing, and customer experience
- Believe a predominantly company-operated model provides better long-term margin control despite higher cost exposure
- Value Darden's established history of returning capital to shareholders
- Want exposure to a capital-light, predominantly franchised quick-service restaurant business model
- Value Yum Brands' significant international footprint and emerging market growth exposure
- Believe a diversified multi-brand quick-service portfolio provides more resilient system-wide sales growth
- Prefer the more predictable royalty income stream of a franchised business model over direct restaurant operations
| Metric | DRI | YUM |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 54.4 | 51.7 |
| AI ranki | #274 | #394 |
| Latest closei | $212.40 | $149.70 |
| 1M returni | -0.60% | +6.45% |
| 3M returni | +8.20% | +0.52% |
| 6M returni | +5.64% | -6.60% |
| 1Y returni | +13.33% | +1.57% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | DRI | YUM |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.39K (+13.9%) started 2025-10-23 | $10.23K (+2.3%) started 2025-10-23 |
| 5Y ago | $18.93K (+89.3%) started 2021-10-25 | $13.59K (+35.9%) started 2021-10-25 |
| 10Y ago | $55.73K (+457.3%) started 2016-10-24 | $32.29K (+222.9%) started 2016-10-24 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | DRI | YUM |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $24.48B | $41.99B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 20.65 | 19.38 |
| Forward P/Ei | 17.41 | 20.63 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | 5.20 |
| EV/Revenuei | 2.45 | 6.27 |
| Analyst targeti | $230.68 | $173.34 |
| Target upsidei | +6.98% | +12.66% |
| Metric | DRI | YUM |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 13.70% | 12.20% |
| Earnings growthi | 36.00% | 131.60% |
| EPS growthi | +36.00% | +131.60% |
| FCF margini | +5.99% | +9.55% |
| Operating margini | 14.14% | 32.78% |
| Profit margini | 9.13% | 25.41% |
| ROIC proxyi | 53.72% | N/A |
| Return on equityi | 53.72% | N/A |
| Dividend yieldi | 3.07% | 1.95% |
| Payout ratioi | 59.42% | 36.78% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.58 | 0.55 |
| Debt/equityi | 364.51 | N/A |
| Current ratioi | 0.31 | 0.59 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.12 | 0.33 |
Over the past year, DRI and YUM have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.37), 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 | YUM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +13.91% | +2.28% |
| CAGRi | +13.93% | +2.28% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.55% | 24.75% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.45 | 0.03 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.65 | 0.05 | |
| Max drawdowni | 15.12% | 19.27% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.71% | 10.98% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.15% | 6.83% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.15% | 8.48% | |
| Max daily dropi | 4.72% | 4.41% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 9.57% | 9.55% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +66.78% | +26.98% |
| CAGRi | +10.78% | +4.90% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.25% | 21.25% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.35 | 0.12 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.51 | 0.17 | |
| Max drawdowni | 26.96% | 23.10% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.71% | 10.98% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.81% | 8.06% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 10.95% | 9.49% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.79% | 8.44% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 18.89% | 11.04% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +325.93% | +175.24% |
| CAGRi | +15.60% | +10.66% | |
| Volatilityi | 36.15% | 23.11% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.46 | 0.36 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.68 | 0.53 | |
| Max drawdowni | 72.80% | 52.17% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.71% | 10.98% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.63% | 7.61% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.90% | 10.41% | |
| Max daily dropi | 24.66% | 11.00% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 51.35% | 25.98% |
| Category | DRI | YUM |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Darden Restaurants, Inc. | Yum! Brands, Inc. |
| Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Consumer Cyclical |
| Industry | Restaurants | Restaurants |
| Core business | A multi-brand casual dining restaurant company operating primarily company-owned restaurants under brands including Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, concentrated mainly in the United States. | A global quick-service restaurant company operating a predominantly franchised model under brands including KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, with a significant international footprint alongside its US operations. |
| Investor focus | Same-restaurant sales trends across its brand portfolio, margin management given its predominantly company-operated model, and capital return through dividends and share repurchases. | System-wide sales growth across its franchised brand portfolio, franchise royalty income stability, and international expansion, particularly in emerging markets. |
- Diversified casual dining brand portfolio provides multiple growth and traffic drivers under one company
- Predominantly company-operated model gives direct control over execution, pricing, and customer experience
- Established history of returning capital to shareholders through dividends and share repurchase programs
- Predominantly franchised model generates capital-light, recurring royalty income with lower direct operating cost exposure
- Significant international footprint provides geographic diversification and exposure to emerging market growth
- Multi-brand portfolio across different quick-service categories provides diversified sources of system-wide sales growth
- Company-operated model carries more direct labor and input cost exposure than a franchised business model
- Revenue is concentrated primarily in the US casual dining market, offering less international diversification
- Casual dining category faces ongoing competitive pressure from both fast-casual and other full-service concepts
- Franchised model means less direct control over individual restaurant execution and customer experience
- International exposure introduces currency translation effects and geopolitical and regulatory risk across many markets
- Franchisee health and cooperation are important to system-wide sales growth and brand consistency
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