Darden Restaurants vs Yum China
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Darden Restaurants and Yum China 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 $11.8B for Yum China.
- Darden Restaurants grew revenue faster (9.4%, against 4.4%).
- Darden Restaurants kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (12.0% operating margin, against 10.9%).
- Darden Restaurants turned more of its sales into free cash flow (8.5% FCF margin, against 7.1%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Darden Restaurants’s earnings: a P/E of 20.8x against 16.7x for Yum China.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 7 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Darden Restaurants
DRI
6/7
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on equity
Yum China
YUMC
1/7
Share count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | DRI FY26 | YUMC FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $24.4B | $15.9B |
| Revenue | $13.2B | $11.8B |
| Free cash flow | $1.1B | $840M |
| Net income | $1.2B | $929M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 9.4% | 4.4% |
| 5-year growth | 12.9% | 7.4% |
| Share count change | −1.8% | −4.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 20.3% | — |
| Operating margin | 12.0% | 10.9% |
| Net margin | 9.1% | 7.9% |
| FCF margin | 8.5% | 7.1% |
| Return on capital | 24.8% | — |
| Return on equity | 53.4% | 16.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $3.2B | — |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.5x | — |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.4B | $1.5B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 20.8x | 16.7x |
| Piotroski F-score | 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.