Chipotle Mexican Grill vs Darden Restaurants
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Chipotle Mexican Grill and Darden Restaurants side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Darden Restaurants is the larger business, with $13.2B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $11.9B for Chipotle Mexican Grill.
- Darden Restaurants grew revenue faster (9.4%, against 5.4%).
- Chipotle Mexican Grill kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (16.2% operating margin, against 12.0%).
- Chipotle Mexican Grill turned more of its sales into free cash flow (12.1% FCF margin, against 8.5%).
- Chipotle Mexican Grill earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (73.7%, against 24.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Chipotle Mexican Grill’s earnings: a P/E of 25.7x against 20.9x for Darden Restaurants.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
CMG
7/10
5-year growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Darden Restaurants
DRI
3/10
Revenue growthReturn on equityPiotroski F-score
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CMG FY25 | DRI FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $35.8B | $24.5B |
| Revenue | $11.9B | $13.2B |
| Free cash flow | $1.4B | $1.1B |
| Net income | $1.5B | $1.2B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 5.4% | 9.4% |
| 5-year growth | 14.8% | 12.9% |
| Share count change | −2.5% | −1.8% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 20.3% |
| Operating margin | 16.2% | 12.0% |
| Net margin | 12.9% | 9.1% |
| FCF margin | 12.1% | 8.5% |
| Return on capital | 73.7% | 24.8% |
| Return on equity | 47.4% | 53.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$1.0B | $3.2B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.5x | 1.5x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $2.4B | $1.4B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 25.7x | 20.9x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.