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Side-by-side financial comparison of Darden Restaurants (DRI) and LINCOLN NATIONAL CORP (LNC). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

LINCOLN NATIONAL CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($4.9B vs $3.1B, roughly 1.6× Darden Restaurants). LINCOLN NATIONAL CORP runs the higher net margin — 15.3% vs 7.6%, a 7.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Darden Restaurants posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (7.3% vs -2.8%). Over the past eight quarters, LINCOLN NATIONAL CORP's revenue compounded faster (9.4% CAGR vs 2.1%).

Darden Restaurants, Inc. is an American multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Darden has more than 1,800 restaurant locations and more than 175,000 employees, making it the world's largest full-service restaurant company. The company began as an extension of Red Lobster, founded by William Darden and initially backed by General Mills. Red Lobster was later sold in July 2014.

Lincoln National Corporation is a Fortune 200 American holding company, which operates multiple insurance and investment management businesses through subsidiary companies. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for LNC and its subsidiary companies.

DRI vs LNC — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
LNC
LNC
1.6× larger
LNC
$4.9B
$3.1B
DRI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
DRI
DRI
+10.1% gap
DRI
7.3%
-2.8%
LNC
Higher net margin
LNC
LNC
7.7% more per $
LNC
15.3%
7.6%
DRI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
LNC
LNC
Annualised
LNC
9.4%
2.1%
DRI

Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Revenue
$3.1B
$4.9B
Net Profit
$237.2M
$755.0M
Gross Margin
18.7%
Operating Margin
10.3%
18.6%
Net Margin
7.6%
15.3%
Revenue YoY
7.3%
-2.8%
Net Profit YoY
10.3%
-55.2%
EPS (diluted)
$2.03
$4.32

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
$3.1B
$4.9B
Q3 25
$3.0B
$4.6B
Q2 25
$3.3B
$4.0B
Q1 25
$3.2B
$4.7B
Q4 24
$2.9B
$5.1B
Q3 24
$2.8B
$4.1B
Q2 24
$3.0B
$5.2B
Q1 24
$3.0B
$4.1B
Net Profit
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
$237.2M
$755.0M
Q3 25
$257.8M
$445.0M
Q2 25
$303.9M
$699.0M
Q1 25
$323.4M
$-722.0M
Q4 24
$215.1M
$1.7B
Q3 24
$207.2M
$-528.0M
Q2 24
$308.1M
$895.0M
Q1 24
$312.9M
$1.2B
Gross Margin
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
18.7%
Q3 25
18.9%
Q2 25
22.1%
Q1 25
21.1%
Q4 24
19.5%
Q3 24
18.8%
Q2 24
20.9%
Q1 24
20.6%
Operating Margin
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
10.3%
18.6%
Q3 25
11.1%
11.5%
Q2 25
11.7%
21.0%
Q1 25
13.2%
-20.2%
Q4 24
10.1%
41.5%
Q3 24
9.8%
-17.1%
Q2 24
13.4%
21.3%
Q1 24
13.0%
37.1%
Net Margin
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
7.6%
15.3%
Q3 25
8.5%
9.8%
Q2 25
9.3%
17.3%
Q1 25
10.2%
-15.4%
Q4 24
7.4%
33.3%
Q3 24
7.5%
-12.8%
Q2 24
10.4%
17.4%
Q1 24
10.5%
29.7%
EPS (diluted)
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
$2.03
$4.32
Q3 25
$2.19
$2.12
Q2 25
$2.56
$3.80
Q1 25
$2.74
$-4.41
Q4 24
$1.82
$9.66
Q3 24
$1.74
$-3.29
Q2 24
$2.56
$5.11
Q1 24
$2.60
$6.93

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$224.1M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$2.1B
$6.3B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.1B
$10.9B
Total Assets
$12.9B
$417.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
1.03×
0.57×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
$224.1M
Q3 25
$211.0M
Q2 25
$240.0M
Q1 25
$224.2M
Q4 24
$217.3M
Q3 24
$192.5M
Q2 24
$194.8M
Q1 24
$243.9M
Total Debt
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
$2.1B
$6.3B
Q3 25
$2.1B
$5.8B
Q2 25
$2.1B
$5.8B
Q1 25
$2.1B
$5.9B
Q4 24
$2.1B
$6.1B
Q3 24
$1.4B
$5.9B
Q2 24
$1.4B
$5.7B
Q1 24
$1.4B
$5.7B
Stockholders' Equity
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
$2.1B
$10.9B
Q3 25
$2.2B
$10.5B
Q2 25
$2.3B
$9.5B
Q1 25
$2.2B
$8.2B
Q4 24
$2.1B
$8.3B
Q3 24
$2.1B
$9.0B
Q2 24
$2.2B
$7.9B
Q1 24
$2.2B
$7.5B
Total Assets
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
$12.9B
$417.2B
Q3 25
$12.8B
$415.3B
Q2 25
$12.6B
$399.1B
Q1 25
$12.6B
$382.9B
Q4 24
$12.5B
$390.8B
Q3 24
$11.4B
$396.8B
Q2 24
$11.3B
$384.5B
Q1 24
$11.4B
$383.4B
Debt / Equity
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
1.03×
0.57×
Q3 25
0.96×
0.55×
Q2 25
0.92×
0.60×
Q1 25
0.96×
0.72×
Q4 24
1.02×
0.74×
Q3 24
0.65×
0.65×
Q2 24
0.61×
0.72×
Q1 24
0.63×
0.76×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$320.7M
$233.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$119.8M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
3.9%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
6.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.35×
0.31×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.0B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
$320.7M
$233.0M
Q3 25
$342.5M
$-1.1B
Q2 25
$457.0M
$1.0B
Q1 25
$588.2M
$-272.0M
Q4 24
$388.6M
$222.0M
Q3 24
$273.2M
$-27.0M
Q2 24
$426.0M
$-859.0M
Q1 24
$585.8M
$-1.3B
Free Cash Flow
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
$119.8M
Q3 25
$168.4M
Q2 25
$285.0M
Q1 25
$430.1M
Q4 24
$219.3M
Q3 24
$128.0M
Q2 24
$285.6M
Q1 24
$437.4M
FCF Margin
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
3.9%
Q3 25
5.5%
Q2 25
8.7%
Q1 25
13.6%
Q4 24
7.6%
Q3 24
4.6%
Q2 24
9.7%
Q1 24
14.7%
Capex Intensity
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
6.5%
Q3 25
5.7%
Q2 25
5.3%
Q1 25
5.0%
Q4 24
5.9%
Q3 24
5.3%
Q2 24
4.7%
Q1 24
5.0%
Cash Conversion
DRI
DRI
LNC
LNC
Q4 25
1.35×
0.31×
Q3 25
1.33×
-2.56×
Q2 25
1.50×
1.45×
Q1 25
1.82×
Q4 24
1.81×
0.13×
Q3 24
1.32×
Q2 24
1.38×
-0.96×
Q1 24
1.87×
-1.10×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

DRI
DRI

Olive Garden Segment$1.4B44%
Long Horn Steakhouse Segment$775.9M25%
Other$647.3M21%
Fine Dining Segment$316.2M10%

LNC
LNC

Life Segment$1.6B33%
Group Protection Segment$1.5B31%
Annuities Segment$1.3B27%
Other$435.0M9%

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