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Side-by-side financial comparison of Darden Restaurants (DRI) and MARKEL GROUP INC. (MKL). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

MARKEL GROUP INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($3.6B vs $3.1B, roughly 1.2× Darden Restaurants). MARKEL GROUP INC. runs the higher net margin — 16.1% vs 7.6%, a 8.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Darden Restaurants posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (7.3% vs -6.9%). MARKEL GROUP INC. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($599.1M vs $119.8M). Over the past eight quarters, Darden Restaurants's revenue compounded faster (2.1% CAGR vs -10.5%).

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.

Markel Group Inc. is a group of companies headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and originally founded in 1930 as an insurance company.

DRI vs MKL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MKL
MKL
1.2× larger
MKL
$3.6B
$3.1B
DRI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
DRI
DRI
+14.2% gap
DRI
7.3%
-6.9%
MKL
Higher net margin
MKL
MKL
8.5% more per $
MKL
16.1%
7.6%
DRI
More free cash flow
MKL
MKL
$479.3M more FCF
MKL
$599.1M
$119.8M
DRI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
DRI
DRI
Annualised
DRI
2.1%
-10.5%
MKL

Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Revenue
$3.1B
$3.6B
Net Profit
$237.2M
$576.8M
Gross Margin
18.7%
Operating Margin
10.3%
22.2%
Net Margin
7.6%
16.1%
Revenue YoY
7.3%
-6.9%
Net Profit YoY
10.3%
5.0%
EPS (diluted)
$2.03
$48.22

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
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$3.1B
$3.6B
Q3 25
$3.0B
$3.9B
Q2 25
$3.3B
$4.6B
Q1 25
$3.2B
$3.4B
Q4 24
$2.9B
$3.8B
Q3 24
$2.8B
$4.6B
Q2 24
$3.0B
$3.7B
Q1 24
$3.0B
$4.5B
Net Profit
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$237.2M
$576.8M
Q3 25
$257.8M
$751.3M
Q2 25
$303.9M
$657.1M
Q1 25
$323.4M
$121.7M
Q4 24
$215.1M
$549.2M
Q3 24
$207.2M
$905.0M
Q2 24
$308.1M
$267.7M
Q1 24
$312.9M
$1.0B
Gross Margin
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
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
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
10.3%
22.2%
Q3 25
11.1%
25.7%
Q2 25
11.7%
24.1%
Q1 25
13.2%
8.3%
Q4 24
10.1%
15.5%
Q3 24
9.8%
29.7%
Q2 24
13.4%
11.1%
Q1 24
13.0%
29.9%
Net Margin
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
7.6%
16.1%
Q3 25
8.5%
19.1%
Q2 25
9.3%
14.3%
Q1 25
10.2%
3.6%
Q4 24
7.4%
14.3%
Q3 24
7.5%
19.6%
Q2 24
10.4%
7.2%
Q1 24
10.5%
23.0%
EPS (diluted)
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$2.03
$48.22
Q3 25
$2.19
$59.25
Q2 25
$2.56
$49.67
Q1 25
$2.74
$12.08
Q4 24
$1.82
$39.02
Q3 24
$1.74
$66.25
Q2 24
$2.56
$18.62
Q1 24
$2.60
$75.43

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$224.1M
$4.0B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$2.1B
$4.3B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.1B
$18.6B
Total Assets
$12.9B
$68.9B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
1.03×
0.23×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$224.1M
$4.0B
Q3 25
$211.0M
$4.0B
Q2 25
$240.0M
$3.7B
Q1 25
$224.2M
$4.2B
Q4 24
$217.3M
$3.7B
Q3 24
$192.5M
$3.9B
Q2 24
$194.8M
$3.5B
Q1 24
$243.9M
$3.6B
Total Debt
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$2.1B
$4.3B
Q3 25
$2.1B
$4.3B
Q2 25
$2.1B
$4.4B
Q1 25
$2.1B
$4.4B
Q4 24
$2.1B
$4.3B
Q3 24
$1.4B
$4.4B
Q2 24
$1.4B
$4.4B
Q1 24
$1.4B
$3.9B
Stockholders' Equity
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$2.1B
$18.6B
Q3 25
$2.2B
$18.0B
Q2 25
$2.3B
$17.3B
Q1 25
$2.2B
$17.1B
Q4 24
$2.1B
$16.9B
Q3 24
$2.1B
$17.0B
Q2 24
$2.2B
$15.9B
Q1 24
$2.2B
$15.7B
Total Assets
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$12.9B
$68.9B
Q3 25
$12.8B
$67.4B
Q2 25
$12.6B
$66.8B
Q1 25
$12.6B
$64.6B
Q4 24
$12.5B
$61.9B
Q3 24
$11.4B
$62.3B
Q2 24
$11.3B
$59.7B
Q1 24
$11.4B
$57.3B
Debt / Equity
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
1.03×
0.23×
Q3 25
0.96×
0.24×
Q2 25
0.92×
0.25×
Q1 25
0.96×
0.26×
Q4 24
1.02×
0.26×
Q3 24
0.65×
0.26×
Q2 24
0.61×
0.28×
Q1 24
0.63×
0.25×

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
MKL
MKL
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$320.7M
$662.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$119.8M
$599.1M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
3.9%
16.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
6.5%
1.8%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.35×
1.15×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.0B
$2.6B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$320.7M
$662.2M
Q3 25
$342.5M
$1.2B
Q2 25
$457.0M
$504.4M
Q1 25
$588.2M
$376.2M
Q4 24
$388.6M
$493.9M
Q3 24
$273.2M
$890.8M
Q2 24
$426.0M
$578.6M
Q1 24
$585.8M
$630.7M
Free Cash Flow
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$119.8M
$599.1M
Q3 25
$168.4M
$1.2B
Q2 25
$285.0M
$453.8M
Q1 25
$430.1M
$335.5M
Q4 24
$219.3M
$420.0M
Q3 24
$128.0M
$838.9M
Q2 24
$285.6M
$521.4M
Q1 24
$437.4M
$558.7M
FCF Margin
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
3.9%
16.7%
Q3 25
5.5%
29.6%
Q2 25
8.7%
9.9%
Q1 25
13.6%
9.9%
Q4 24
7.6%
10.9%
Q3 24
4.6%
18.2%
Q2 24
9.7%
14.1%
Q1 24
14.7%
12.5%
Capex Intensity
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
6.5%
1.8%
Q3 25
5.7%
1.3%
Q2 25
5.3%
1.1%
Q1 25
5.0%
1.2%
Q4 24
5.9%
1.9%
Q3 24
5.3%
1.1%
Q2 24
4.7%
1.5%
Q1 24
5.0%
1.6%
Cash Conversion
DRI
DRI
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
1.35×
1.15×
Q3 25
1.33×
1.62×
Q2 25
1.50×
0.77×
Q1 25
1.82×
3.09×
Q4 24
1.81×
0.90×
Q3 24
1.32×
0.98×
Q2 24
1.38×
2.16×
Q1 24
1.87×
0.62×

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%

MKL
MKL

Industrial$1.6B45%
Consumer And Other$958.3M27%
Financial$737.0M21%
Other$198.8M6%
Corporate Operations$52.0M1%
Revenue From Contract With Customer$10.5M0%

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