THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY INCORPORATED vs DARDEN RESTAURANTS, INC., two Restaurants stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where CAKE and DRI diverge most: on fcf yield, CAKE reads 4.2% and DRI reads -3.2%; on implied growth (priced in), CAKE reads +21.8% and DRI reads +3.1%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's CAKE price has a different growth bar priced in than DRI (+21.8% implied for CAKE vs +3.1% for DRI); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What CAKE's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). What DRI's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | CAKE | DRI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $84.78 | $196.31 |
| Market cap | $4.1B | $22.7B |
| Sector | Restaurants | Restaurants |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +21.8% | +3.1% |
| P/E | 24.9 | 18.9 |
| P/B | 8.95 | 10.30 |
| P/S | 1.08 | 1.72 |
| EV/EBITDA | 14.9 | 11.6 |
| Revenue growth | +5.1% | +9.3% |
| Gross margin | — | 22.1% |
| Operating margin | 5.6% | 13.9% |
| Net margin | 4.3% | 9.1% |
| Return on equity | 35.9% | 54.7% |
| Return on assets | 5.0% | 9.4% |
| Return on invested capital | 16.2% | 30.5% |
| FCF yield | 4.2% | -3.2% |
| Dividend yield | 1.3% | 3.1% |
| Debt / equity | 1.37 | 1.06 |
| Current ratio | 0.59 | 0.31 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.58 | 2.24 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.