Aramark vs Darden Restaurants (ARMK vs DRI)
Side by side from their SEC filings: revenue, margins, growth, returns and valuation, plus short interest, insider activity and institutional ownership.
Aramark is the larger company by revenue ($18.5B vs $13.2B). Darden Restaurants carries the larger market value ($24.5B vs $14.8B). Aramark has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+53.0% cumulative vs +37.2%). Darden Restaurants runs the higher operating margin (12.0% vs 4.3%). Darden Restaurants trades at the lower trailing P/E (20.7x vs 40.5x).
About Aramark
Aramark provides food and facilities services to clients in education, healthcare, business, sports, leisure, and corrections sectors. The company operates primarily in the United States and 15 other countries, managing services such as dining, catering, facility maintenance, and procurement. Aramark serves institutions including schools, hospitals, businesses, sports venues, and correctional facilities.
About Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants, Inc. operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada under various brand names including Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Chuy’s, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, Bahama Breeze, and The Capital Burger. The company owns and operates over 2,100 restaurants and also franchises additional locations internationally. Its restaurants offer a range of dining experiences from casual to fine dining, serving a variety of cuisines such as Italian, steakhouse, Mexican, and seafood.
Head to head (ARMK FY2025 vs DRI FY2026)
| Metric | ARMKFY2025 | DRIFY2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $18.51B | $13.21B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 6.4% | 9.4% |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 4.3% | 12.0% |
| Net margin | 1.8% | 9.1% |
| Net income | $326.4M | $1.21B |
| Diluted EPS | $1.22 | $10.38 |
| FCF margin | 2.3% | 8.5% |
| ROE | 10.4% | 54.7% |
| Long-term debt / equity | 1.71× | 0.74× |
| Market cap | $14.84B | $24.48B |
| P/E | 40.5× | 20.7× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (ARMK FY2025, DRI FY2026). ROE is net income over fiscal-year-end equity; long-term debt / equity counts non-current term debt only. P/E and market cap are derived from stored market prices, last retrieved on a rolling basis and typically within the past week.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| ARMK by fiscal year | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $12.10B | $13.69B | $16.08B | $17.40B | $18.51B |
| Net income | $-90.8M | $194.5M | $674.1M | $262.5M | $326.4M |
| Operating margin | 1.6% | 3.0% | 3.9% | 4.1% | 4.3% |
| DRI by fiscal year | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $9.63B | $10.49B | $11.39B | $12.08B | $13.21B |
| Net income | $952.8M | $981.9M | $1.03B | $1.05B | $1.21B |
| Operating margin | 12.1% | 11.5% | 11.5% | 11.3% | 12.0% |
Aramark and Darden Restaurants use different fiscal calendars (ARMK's FY2025 ended 2025-10-03, DRI's FY2026 ended 2026-05-31), so their fiscal years are shown separately rather than forced into one timeline.
Peer standing
Where each company ranks among the 42 restaurant companies, on the same scale. Each figure is ranked only against peers that report it. Percentiles describe position in the distribution, not a rating.
| Metric | ARMK | DRI |
|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 4.3%51st percentile of 40 | 12.0%79th percentile of 40 |
| Net margin | 1.8%49th percentile of 42 | 9.1%83rd percentile of 42 |
| FCF margin | 2.3%49th percentile of 42 | 8.5%76th percentile of 42 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +6.4%54th percentile of 42 | +9.4%71st percentile of 42 |
| ROE | 10.4%61st percentile of 29 | 54.7%96th percentile of 29 |
| P/E | 40.5×85th percentile of 27 | 20.7×35th percentile of 27 |
| Long-term debt / equity | 1.71×82nd percentile of 23 | 0.74×55th percentile of 23 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 2.78d35th percentile of 41 | 6.25d80th percentile of 41 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | ARMK | DRI |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 8.7M | 6.5M |
| Change vs prior settlement | -7.0% | +6.0% |
| Days to cover | 2.78 | 6.25 |
| As of settlement | 2026-08-14 | 2026-08-14 |
Source: FINRA Consolidated Short Interest. FINRA is the owner and source of the FINRA-supplied data; republishing or redistributing it is not permitted. Not presented as a percentage of float. No FINRA endorsement of this product is implied.
Insider activity (last 90 days)
| Form 4 activity (codes P/S) | ARMK | DRI |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | 0 |
| Sells | 2 ($4.3M) | 13 ($15.6M) |
Non-derivative purchases (code P) and sales (code S) reported on SEC Form 4, which may be open-market or private (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 15% of covered companies saw any reported insider purchase (code P) in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
5 tracked 13F managers hold both Aramark and Darden Restaurants as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, Citadel Advisors, Gotham Asset Management, Millennium Management, Two Sigma Investments. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. Figures are as-reported and may be unaudited or restated; verify against the source filings before relying on them. Comparisons are descriptive (higher or lower on a reported figure), not a rating or a recommendation. Informational only. Not investment advice.