Darden Restaurants management check
DRI · Consumer Discretionary · Restaurants · CEO Ricardo Cardenas
Filings as of
4 good · 2 to watch · 1 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2022 grew to $168, against $140 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.95 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
2.9% of net income$34.8m of reported pay in fiscal 2026, against $1.2bn of net income.
- Flag
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 0.8 years of payThe CEO holds 125,279.988 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 0.8 years of pay. 7 insiders sold $16.0m in the last six months and none bought.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -1.9% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.6% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Eugene I. Lee, Jr., Ricardo Cardenas. 5 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Consumer Discretionary.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 75 | 70 | |
| Pay for performance | 98 | 79 | |
| CEO cost | 12 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | 9 | 36 | |
| Dilution | 74 | 74 | |
| Stable leadership | 60 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Restaurants, by management score. Darden Restaurants is 32nd of 47 in its sector.
- 223MCDMcDonald's66
- 303DRIDarden Restaurants61
- 324DPZDomino's60
- 356CMGChipotle Mexican Grill58
- 438YUMYum! Brands48
- 448SBUXStarbucks47
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed August 10, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ricardo Cardenas | $34.8m | $34.8m | $4.0m | $168 | $140 | $1.2bn |
| 2025 | Ricardo Cardenas | $14.0m | $31.6m | $3.7m | $163 | $122 | $1.0bn |
| 2024 | Ricardo Cardenas | $12.0m | $6.6m | $3.7m | $114 | $102 | $1.0bn |
| 2023 | Ricardo Cardenas | $8.5m | $15.2m | $3.2m | $120 | $88 | $981.9m |
| 2022 | Eugene I. Lee, Jr. | $11.9m | $8.9m | $3.5m | $91 | $89 | $952.8m |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted Darden Diluted Net EPS. Its other key measures: Darden Adjusted Diluted Net EPS, Darden Same-Restaurant Sales Growth, Relative Total Shareholder Return.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Ricardo Cardenas (President and CEO) held 125,279.988 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Jul 28, 2026, roughly $26.2m at that filing's price.
7 insiders sold $16.0m in the last six months and none bought.
- SoldRicardo CardenasPresident and CEO$8.2mJul 28, 2026
- SoldSusan M. ConnellySVP, Chief Comm & PA Officer$2.5mJul 29, 2026
- SoldJohn W. WilkersonPresident, Olive Garden$1.8mAug 5, 2026
- SoldRajesh VennamSVP, CFO$1.8mJul 29, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Sep 19, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 20, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 28, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 9, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 3, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 22, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 24, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 22, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 17, 2021Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Sep 24, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $6.2bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 119% of net income, and $354.7m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $9.6bn | $10.5bn | $11.4bn | $12.1bn | $13.2bn |
| Net income | $952.8m | $981.9m | $1.0bn | $1.0bn | $1.2bn |
| Stock-based pay | $60.5m | $67.5m | $68.5m | $79.1m | $79.1m |
| Buybacks | $1.1bn | $458.7m | $453.9m | $418.2m | $671.7m |
| Dividends | $563.0m | $589.8m | $628.4m | $658.5m | $693.0m |
| Diluted shares | 129m | 123m | 121m | 118m | 116m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.