CAKE vs DRI vs CBRL Stock Comparison

Cheesecake Factory, Darden Restaurants and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CAKE Cheesecake Factory Inc
$105.73 +0.5% 1M +94.6% 1Y
Market cap
$5.26B
P/E
27.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.88B
Div. yield
1.11%
Full-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
2 wins
DRI Darden Restaurants Inc
$216.53 +10.0% 1M +19.4% 1Y
Market cap
$24.50B
P/E
20.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.37B
Div. yield
2.88%
Full-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
9 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Darden Restaurants leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Darden Restaurants 9, Cheesecake Factory 2, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAKEDRICBRLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.26B $24.50B $1.58B DRI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.6x 20.8x 50.0x DRI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.0x 18.2x 33.1x DRI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.7% +8.1% -4.7% DRI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.6% 8.8% 1.0% DRI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 17.1% 32.9% -1.4% DRI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 1.1x 2.7x DRI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.11% 2.88% 1.41% DRI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +94.6% +19.4% +97.9% CBRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +21.1%/yr +8.5%/yr -11.9%/yr CAKE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 39.7% 27.9% 57.5% DRI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 49/100 35/100 CAKE

Percentile Scorecard

CAKEDRICBRL

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCAKEDRICBRL
Valuation 37 #32 of 50 33 #34 of 50 59 #21 of 50
Growth 70 #15 of 47 26 #35 of 47 9 #43 of 47
Profitability 60 #19 of 46 82 #9 of 46 38 #29 of 46
Financial Health 50 #26 of 51 28 #37 of 51 38 #32 of 51
Shareholder Returns 52 #16 of 32 77 #8 of 32 32 #22 of 32
Overall 54 49 35
  • CAKE ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • DRI ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • CBRL ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCAKEDRICBRLSPY
1 month +0.5%+10.0%+31.9% +0.9%
3 months +4.5%+2.0%+25.3% +5.9%
6 months +68.7%+10.3%+128.3% +8.5%
Year to date +109.4%+17.7%+179.0% +13.3%
1 year +94.6%+19.4%+97.9% +12.4%
3 years +253.3%+52.0%+9.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year +52.3%+15.0%+3.1% +23.5%
5 years +160.2%+50.2%-46.8% +68.2%
5 years, per year +21.1%+8.5%-11.9% +11.0%
10 years +99.6%+245.8%-48.1% +263.4%
10 years, per year +7.2%+13.2%-6.4% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCAKEDRICBRLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 39.7%27.9%57.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.6%28.3%53.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.490.180.35 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.380.701.70 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.3%-28.1%-83.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.9%-4.9%0.0% -0.9%
52-week high $117.29$227.72$70.87 $779.14
52-week low $43.14$169.21$25.02 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCAKEDRICBRL
P/E now vs peer median 27.6xmedian 20.8x 20.8xmedian 20.8x 50.0xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.1x 1.8xmedian 1.1x 0.5xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.7xmedian 13.0x 12.6xmedian 13.0x 16.6xmedian 13.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.5xmedian 17.6x 23.8xmedian 17.6x 17.9xmedian 17.6x
P/B now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 3.2x 11.8xmedian 3.2x 3.3xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.68median 1.08 2.41median 1.08 -1.57median 1.08

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCAKEDRICBRL
Revenue $3.88B $13.37B $3.32B
Gross profit – $4.46B $2.29B
Operating income $204.16M $1.56B -$12.47M
Net income $178.62M $1.18B $31.68M
Free cash flow $206.30M $1.03B $88.42M
EPS (diluted) $3.68 $10.33 $1.40
Cash & equivalents $195.17M $220.50M $36.54M
Total debt $562.90M $2.62B $1.91B
Shares (diluted) 48.49M 114.40M 22.55M
Enterprise value $4.43B $23.59B $1.50B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCAKEDRICBRL
P/E 27.6x 20.8x 50.0x
P/FCF 25.5x 23.8x 17.9x
P/Operating cash flow 14.8x 13.7x 7.7x
P/S 1.4x 1.8x 0.5x
P/B 10.1x 11.8x 3.3x
P/Tangible book 19.7x 33.9x 3.3x
EV/EBITDA 17.7x 12.6x 16.6x
EV/EBIT 27.6x 17.2x -151.1x
EV/Revenue 1.5x 2.0x 0.6x
EV/FCF 27.3x 26.1x 21.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.9x 15.0x 9.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.68 2.41 -1.57

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAKEDRICBRL
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.7% 8.1% -4.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 7.5% -1.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – -32.7% -4.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -7.5% -0.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 3.6% 9.1% -122.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 24.0% 8.9% -28.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.4% 7.5% -31.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.9% 6.3% -31.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 11.5% 10.5% -31.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 40.6% 8.6% -31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.5% 0.7% -5.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 8.7% -6.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 57.2% -4.4% 48.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 10.0% -10.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAKEDRICBRL
Gross margin – 33.4% 69.1%
EBITDA margin 8.2% 16.0% 3.4%
Operating margin 5.3% 11.7% -0.4%
Pretax margin 5.1% 10.2% 0.6%
Net margin 4.6% 8.8% 1.0%
FCF margin 5.3% 7.7% 2.7%
Operating cash flow margin 9.1% 13.4% 6.2%
Return on equity 36.5% 55.3% 6.7%
Return on assets 5.4% 9.1% 1.5%
Return on invested capital 17.1% 32.9% -1.4%
Return on capital employed 7.9% 15.9% -0.8%
Asset turnover 1.2x 1.0x 1.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 1.5x 6.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.6% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAKEDRICBRL
Debt / assets 17.1% 19.8% 16.7%
Debt / equity 1.1x 1.3x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 1.1x 2.7x
Debt / FCF 2.7x 2.5x 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 84.2% 84.4% 76.4%
Equity / assets 15.8% 15.6% 23.6%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 0.6x 0.3x 0.6x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.05 2.49 2.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAKEDRICBRL
Dividend yield 1.1% 2.9% 1.4%
Net buyback yield 0.6% 2.7% –
Shareholder yield 1.7% 5.6% 1.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 31.0% – 73.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 26.8% – 26.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.0% – 0.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -41.6%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCAKEDRICBRL
Forward P/E 24.0xFY2026 18.2xFY2026 33.1xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $4.40FY2026 $11.87FY2026 $2.14FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +16.7%FY2026 +11.6%FY2026 +167.5%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +11.6% +7.9% +5.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.82BFY2026 $14.53BFY2026 $3.54BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +1.9%FY2026 +10.0%FY2026 +6.6%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +7.9% -3.5% -8.3%
CAKE estimates →DRI estimates →CBRL estimates →

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAKEDRICBRL
Held by institutions 100.0% 97.6% 100.0%
Institutions holding 345 1,083 270
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.2% +1.9% +12.2%
Institutions buying 161 578 150
Institutions selling 118 325 69
Buyers to sellers 1.36 1.78 2.17
CAKE holders →DRI holders →CBRL holders →

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CAKEDRICBRL
CAKE 1.00 0.63 0.52
DRI 0.63 1.00 0.44
CBRL 0.52 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

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CAKE · Full-Service Restaurants
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Plot all 47 Full-Service Restaurants stocks →

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAKE, DRI and CBRL?

Darden Restaurants (DRI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) $5.26B, Darden Restaurants (DRI) $24.50B, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) $1.58B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAKE, DRI and CBRL?

Darden Restaurants (DRI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 27.6x, Darden Restaurants (DRI) 20.8x, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) 50.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Darden Restaurants (DRI) is cheapest (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 24.0x, Darden Restaurants (DRI) 18.2x, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) 33.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Darden Restaurants (DRI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) +5.7%, Darden Restaurants (DRI) +8.1%, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) -4.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Darden Restaurants (DRI) has the highest net margin (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 4.6%, Darden Restaurants (DRI) 8.8%, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) 1.0%). On return on invested capital, Darden Restaurants (DRI) leads (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 17.1%, Darden Restaurants (DRI) 32.9%, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) -1.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) returned the most: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) +94.6%, Darden Restaurants (DRI) +19.4%, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) +97.9%. Over five years, Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) compounded fastest (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) +21.1%/yr, Darden Restaurants (DRI) +8.5%/yr, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) -11.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Darden Restaurants (DRI) has the highest dividend yield: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 1.11%, Darden Restaurants (DRI) 2.88%, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) 1.41%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Darden Restaurants (DRI) has been the steadiest (Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 39.7%, Darden Restaurants (DRI) 27.9%, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) 57.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAKE, DRI and CBRL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Darden Restaurants (DRI) leads on 9. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.