DRI vs YUMC Stock Comparison

Darden Restaurants and Yum China Holdings Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DRI Darden Restaurants Inc
$213.25 +6.7% 1M +15.4% 1Y
Market cap
$24.25B
P/E
20.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.37B
Div. yield
–
Full-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
5 wins
YUMC Yum China Holdings, Inc.
$45.54 +12.5% 1M +1.7% 1Y
Market cap
$15.80B
P/E
16.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.44B
Div. yield
0.02%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Yum China Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Yum China Holdings 6, Darden Restaurants 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDRIYUMCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $24.25B $15.80B DRI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.5x 16.2x YUMC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.0x 15.0x YUMC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.1% +8.8% YUMC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.8% 7.8% DRI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 32.9% 16.5% DRI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.1x -0.7x YUMC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +15.4% +1.7% DRI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.2%/yr -4.9%/yr DRI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.9% 25.6% YUMC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 75/100 YUMC

Percentile Scorecard

DRIYUMC

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

AxisDRIYUMC
Valuation 33 #34 of 50 78 #12 of 50
Growth 26 #35 of 47 50 #24 of 47
Profitability 80 #10 of 46 64 #17 of 46
Financial Health 28 #37 of 51 88 #7 of 51
Shareholder Returns 75 #9 of 33 94 #3 of 33
Overall 48 75
  • DRI ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • YUMC ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDRIYUMCSPY
1 month +6.7%+12.5% -0.8%
3 months +4.5%+1.8% +3.5%
6 months +7.3%-4.6% +7.0%
Year to date +15.9%-4.6% +12.2%
1 year +15.4%+1.7% +13.0%
3 years +49.7%-13.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year +14.4%-4.6% +23.1%
5 years +48.6%-22.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +8.2%-4.9% +11.0%
10 years +248.7%+84.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +13.3%+6.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureDRIYUMCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.9%25.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.2%24.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.180.27 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.550.06 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.1%-54.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.4%-21.4% -1.8%
52-week high $227.72$57.95 $779.14
52-week low $169.21$39.98 $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.

MultipleDRIYUMC
P/E now vs peer median 20.5xmedian 20.5x 16.3xmedian 20.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.1x 1.3xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.4xmedian 13.3x 7.8xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 23.5xmedian 17.5x 16.7xmedian 17.5x
P/B now vs peer median 11.7xmedian 3.1x 2.6xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.37median 1.07 0.98median 1.07

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 monthsDRIYUMC
Revenue $13.37B $12.44B
Gross profit $4.46B $2.14B
Operating income $1.56B $1.38B
Net income $1.18B $1.05B
Free cash flow $1.03B $940.00M
EPS (diluted) $10.33 $2.79
Cash & equivalents $220.50M $485.00M
Total debt $2.62B $66.00M
Shares (diluted) 114.40M 349.00M
Enterprise value $23.35B $9.46B

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
MetricDRIYUMC
P/E 20.5x 16.3x
P/FCF 23.5x 16.7x
P/Operating cash flow 13.5x 10.0x
P/S 1.8x 1.3x
P/B 11.7x 2.6x
P/Tangible book 33.4x 2.7x
EV/EBITDA 12.4x 7.8x
EV/EBIT 17.0x 10.4x
EV/Revenue 2.0x 1.2x
EV/FCF 25.8x 15.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.8x 9.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.37 0.98

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDRIYUMC
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.1% 8.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.5% 6.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -32.7% 9.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -7.5% 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.1% 12.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.9% 10.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 7.5% 6.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 9.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.5% 13.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 16.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 0.7% 9.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.7% -3.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4.4% 12.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.0% -4.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDRIYUMC
Gross margin 33.4% 17.2%
EBITDA margin 16.0% 14.9%
Operating margin 11.7% 11.1%
Pretax margin 10.2% 11.5%
Net margin 8.8% 7.8%
FCF margin 7.7% 7.6%
Operating cash flow margin 13.4% 12.7%
Return on equity 55.3% 17.3%
Return on assets 9.1% 9.7%
Return on invested capital 32.9% 16.5%
Return on capital employed 15.9% 16.4%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDRIYUMC
Debt / assets 19.8% 0.6%
Debt / equity 1.3x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.1x -0.7x
Debt / FCF 2.5x 0.1x
Liabilities / assets 84.4% 44.2%
Equity / assets 15.6% 55.8%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio 0.3x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 2.47 3.73

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDRIYUMC
Dividend yield 2.9% 2.4%
Net buyback yield 2.8% 8.3%
Shareholder yield 5.7% 10.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 35.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 40.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 24.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 21.6%

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.

ConsensusDRIYUMC
Forward P/E 18.0xFY2026 15.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.87FY2026 $3.04FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +11.6%FY2026 +21.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.9% +15.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $14.53BFY2026 $12.37BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.0%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.5% +6.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDRIYUMC
Held by institutions 97.6% –
Institutions holding 1,083 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.9% –
Institutions buying 578 –
Institutions selling 325 –
Buyers to sellers 1.78 –

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.

DRIYUMC
DRI 1.00 0.24
YUMC 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DRI and YUMC?

Darden Restaurants (DRI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Darden Restaurants (DRI) $24.25B, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) $15.80B.

Which stock is cheaper, DRI and YUMC?

Yum China Holdings (YUMC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Darden Restaurants (DRI) 20.5x, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 16.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) is cheapest (Darden Restaurants (DRI) 18.0x, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 15.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Yum China Holdings (YUMC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Darden Restaurants (DRI) +8.1%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) +8.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Darden Restaurants (DRI) has the highest net margin (Darden Restaurants (DRI) 8.8%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 7.8%). On return on invested capital, Darden Restaurants (DRI) leads (Darden Restaurants (DRI) 32.9%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 16.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Darden Restaurants (DRI) returned the most: Darden Restaurants (DRI) +15.4%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) +1.7%. Over five years, Darden Restaurants (DRI) compounded fastest (Darden Restaurants (DRI) +8.2%/yr, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) -4.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Darden Restaurants (DRI) 0.00%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 0.02%. Darden Restaurants (DRI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) has been the steadiest (Darden Restaurants (DRI) 27.9%, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 25.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do DRI and YUMC move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.24, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, DRI and YUMC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) leads on 6. 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.