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Chipotle Mexican Grill vs Darden Restaurants: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Darden Restaurants holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across stability and valuation. Chipotle Mexican Grill still has the edge on profitability, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The clearest separation starts in stability, but valuation adds another real layer to the result. The overall score gap is 12 points in favour of Darden Restaurants, Inc..

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Restaurants

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. CMG and DRI share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Chipotle Mexican Grill and Darden Restaurants each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
CMG
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
41
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
DRI
Darden Restaurants, Inc.
53
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

Score differences across key dimensions.

Dimension spread: CMG vs DRI Profitability 46 35 Stability 27 67 Valuation 54 79 Growth 26 26 CMG DRI
Gap Ranking
#1 Stability +40
#2 Valuation +25
#3 Profitability +11
#4 Growth
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CMG and DRI Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CMGDRI Relative valuation Structural strength

Darden Restaurants, Inc. looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where CMG and DRI each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY CMG Lower · below norm 0th 50th 100th 58 pct gap DRI Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 30th 87th
Today CMG sits in the lower-middle of its own 5-year history (30th percentile), while DRI sits higher in its own history (87th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, CMG is at a historically more favourable entry position than DRI. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Stability
Darden Restaurants, Inc. ranks near the top of the group on stability; Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Valuation
On valuation, the same pattern holds: both rank well, but Darden Restaurants, Inc. still sits higher.
Stability — Dominant Gap
CMG
27
DRI
67
Gap+40in favour of DRI

The clearest distance comes from a steadier profile over time.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Capital efficiency also runs the other way, with a 10.6-point ROIC edge acting as a real counterforce.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both stability and valuation — though profitability still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the CMG vs DRI comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar stability-and-valuation comparisons

Explore how CMG and DRI each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.