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Data last updated: Oct 19, 2026
Snapshot (as of Oct 19, 2026): Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) pays a $6.12 annual dividend ($1.62 quarterly), yielding 3.00% at $216.35/share. Next ex-dividend date 2026-10-09. 5 consecutive years of dividend growth. Source: Yahoo Finance, aggregated by MerryDiv.
Dividend Yield: 3.00%
Annual Dividend: $6.12 per share
Payout Ratio: 59.4%
Ex-Dividend Date: 2026-10-09
Dividend Frequency: quarterly
Sector: Consumer Cyclical
Years of Dividend History: 32
Darden Restaurants, Inc. dividend income comes from one of the largest full-service restaurant operators in North America, running brands like Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Ruth's Chris Steak House across the United States and Canada. DRI currently yields 3.28%, with trailing twelve-month payments of $6.12 per share paid quarterly. The next ex-dividend date is October 9, 2026. With a beta of 0.618, DRI stock moves well below the broader market, which suits dividend investors who prioritize lower price volatility alongside income.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. pays out 59.4% of earnings as dividends, a payout ratio classified as moderate (40–60%). That level leaves a meaningful buffer before earnings pressure would force a cut, and the company's portfolio of full-service dining brands across multiple price points supports demand across its restaurant network. Darden Restaurants, Inc. dividend safety is further supported by the fact that the payout has not been cut since 2021, when payments resumed after the pandemic-era interruption. The primary risk is that restaurants are a consumer cyclical business, meaning a sharp pullback in discretionary spending could compress earnings and tighten that buffer.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. dividend history shows a CAGR of 12.3% per year from 2010 to 2025. Per-share payments grew from $1.02 to $5.80 over that period (2026 is a partial year and excluded from the CAGR calculation). The largest annual increase in the window was 33.9% in 2022, when DRI restored and sharply raised its dividend following the pandemic-era reduction in 2020.
| Period | CAGR | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Year | +7.9% | $4.62 (2022) | $5.80 (2025) |
| 5-Year | +37.5% | $1.18 (2020) | $5.80 (2025) |
| 10-Year | +11.4% | $1.97 (2015) | $5.80 (2025) |
DRI fits dividend investors who want a moderate yield paired with above-average dividend growth from a large, multi-brand restaurant operator. The current yield of 3.28% sits in the moderate (2–4%) range and runs above the 5-year average of 3.07%, meaning income buyers are getting slightly more yield than the historical norm. The 59.4% payout ratio is not stretched, which supports the current payment level. The trade-off is sector exposure: restaurants are consumer cyclical, so earnings and dividends can face pressure when consumer spending contracts. What DRI offers is a combination of meaningful income and a 12.3% annualized growth rate over 15 years, at the cost of cyclical business risk.
| Payment Date | Amount per Share |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-09 | $1.6200 |
| 2026-07-10 | $1.6200 |
| 2026-04-10 | $1.5000 |
| 2026-01-09 | $1.5000 |
| 2025-10-10 | $1.5000 |
| 2025-07-10 | $1.5000 |
| 2025-04-10 | $1.4000 |
| 2025-01-10 | $1.4000 |
| 2024-10-10 | $1.4000 |
| 2024-07-10 | $1.4000 |
| Year | Total Dividends |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $6.2400 |
| 2025 | $5.8000 |
| 2024 | $5.4200 |
| 2023 | $5.0400 |
| 2022 | $4.6200 |
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