Restaurants · head to head

CMG vs DRI

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL INC and DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC, side by side on the measures that account for debt and cash — each built from filed accounts.

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Side by side

The two diverge most on net debt / ebitda: −0.3× for CMG against 1.0× for DRI. Whether that gap is justified is a judgement this page does not make.

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL INC compared with DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC
MeasureCMGDRISector median
EV / EBITDA*19.9×12.2×17.7×
EV / Sales*3.8×2.0×5.0×
Net debt / EBITDA−0.3×1.0×2.0×
Return on capital88.0%34.9%42.3%
Operating margin16.2%12.0%23.8%
Free cash flow margin12.1%8.5%16.0%

Green marks the reading conventionally read as cheaper or stronger on that row — a direction, not a recommendation, and the two companies frequently win different rows. * Price-based multiples are a snapshot taken 2026-09-09; the rest come from filed accounts. A dash means the measure could not be computed — each company page says why.

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The full picture

This page compares two companies on ratios. Neither ratio table shows what it would cost to buy either business, how that cost is built, or which filing each term came from — those are on the company pages.