Darden Restaurants is the company behind many of America's best-known sit-down chains. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, it operates nine brands, led by Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, and reported $13.21 billion in FY2026 sales. Darden trades on the NYSE under the ticker DRI, is a member of the S&P 500 and had a market value of roughly $23 billion in late September 2026. Rick Cardenas, who started at Red Lobster as a busser in 1984, has been CEO since May 2022.
Darden makes money by selling food and drinks in restaurants it operates itself. Unlike franchise-heavy chains such as McDonald's or Yum Brands, almost all of its roughly 2,200 restaurants are company-owned, so Darden books the full restaurant sales and carries the food, labor and occupancy costs. A small number of restaurants run under franchise and licensing agreements, mainly outside the U.S. The company reports four segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining (Ruth's Chris, The Capital Grille, Eddie V's) and Other Business (Yard House, Cheddar's, Chuy's, Seasons 52 and the remaining Bahama Breeze units). Brand teams run menus and guest experience, while a shared support center in Orlando handles purchasing, distribution, real estate, technology, finance and HR. In Q1 FY2027, Olive Garden produced $1.33 billion of the $3.20 billion total, LongHorn $861 million, Fine Dining $304 million and Other Business $705 million.