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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Darden Restaurants vs Ross Stores: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Ross Stores holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and profitability. Darden Restaurants still has the edge on valuation, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. On the market side, Ross Stores is in better shape — its trend is intact while Darden Restaurants's trend has broken down. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — Ross Stores's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

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 lead is spread across growth and profitability, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. The overall score gap is 12 points in favour of Ross Stores, Inc..

Trajectory Similarity
0.81
Similar
Peer-set rank: #4
within Darden Restaurants, Inc.'s functional peer set

This comparison is anchored in long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

The pair sits on a clearly comparable long-term path, though it is not a near-twin match.

The strongest overlap appears in margin consistency and revenue stability.

Similarity drivers
margin consistencyrevenue stability
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
DRI
Darden Restaurants, Inc.
53
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
ROST
Ross Stores, Inc.
65
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

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

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: DRI vs ROST Profitability 35 73 Stability 67 59 Valuation 79 54 Growth 26 76 DRI ROST
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +50
#2 Profitability +38
#3 Valuation +25
#4 Stability +8
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for DRI and ROST Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer DRIROST Relative valuation Structural strength

Ross Stores, Inc. occupies the cheaper side of the setup map, although Darden Restaurants, Inc. still holds the stronger structural profile.

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

Entry today — historical context

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

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY DRI Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 11 pct gap ROST Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 87th 98th
DRI (87th percentile) and ROST (98th percentile) both sit in the upper portion of their own 5-year ranges. The historical entry context is broadly similar for both. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

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

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Ross Stores, Inc. ranks near the top of the group on growth; Darden Restaurants, Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Profitability
On profitability, the gap still runs the same way: Ross Stores, Inc. sits near the top of the group, while Darden Restaurants, Inc. remains in the weaker half.
Growth — Dominant Gap
DRI
26
ROST
76
Gap+50in favour of ROST

The main growth separation is very wide, driven by a meaningfully stronger expansion profile.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Absolute pricing still looks more supportive for Darden Restaurants, with a forward P/E that is 8.8 turns lower there.

What this means for the comparison

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

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

Explore full breakdown →
Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how DRI and ROST 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.