Darden Restaurants (DRI) Cash Flow: Operating & Free Cash Flow

Darden Restaurants (DRI) Cash Flow Statement

In fiscal 2026 (fiscal year ended May 31, 2026), Darden Restaurants generated $1.85B of operating cash flow and spent $760.40M on capital expenditures. That left free cash flow of $1.09B, up 5.1% from $1.04B a year earlier, or 8.2% of revenue. It returned $1.36B to shareholders through $693.00M in dividends and $671.70M in share buybacks.

Darden Restaurants Cash Flow Statement Analysis

Values in billions USD

Income Statement Balance Sheet Cash Flow Ratios

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Cash flow statement showing operating, investing, and financing activities for Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) - Annual data in billions USD
Breakdown	FY 2026	FY 2025	FY 2024	FY 2023	FY 2022	FY 2021	FY 2020	FY 2019	FY 2018	FY 2017
Period ending	May 2026	May 2025	May 2024	May 2023	May 2022	May 2021	May 2020	May 2019	May 2018	May 2017
Operating Activities
Net Income	1.21	1.05	1.03	0.98	0.95	0.63	-0.05	0.72	0.60	0.48
Depreciation & Amortization	0.56	0.52	0.46	0.39	0.37	0.35	0.36	0.34	0.31	0.27
Deferred Income Tax	0.07	0.01	0.00	-0.13	-0.02	0.17	-0.13	0.05	-0.02	-0.02
Stock Based Compensation	0.08	0.08	0.07	0.07	0.06	0.07	0.05	0.06	0.04	0.04
Change in Working Capital	-0.03	0.01	0.07	0.18	-0.10	0.13	-0.18	0.15	-0.04	0.12
Change in Accounts Receivable	-0.04	-0.01	0.01	-0.01	0.00	0.33	-0.19	0.00	-0.01	-0.01
Change in Inventory	-0.01	-0.02	0.01	-0.02	-0.08	0.02	-0.01	0.00	-0.03	0.01
Change in Accounts Payable	-0.02	0.03	-0.01	0.04	0.05	0.05	-0.07	0.06	0.01	-0.01
Change in Other Working Capital	-0.04	0.01	0.07	0.17	0.01	-0.26	0.10	0.10	-0.02	0.13
Other Operating Activities	-0.04	0.05	-0.02	0.06	0.01	-0.16	0.66	-0.06	0.10	0.00
Net Cash from Operating Activities	1.85	1.71	1.61	1.55	1.26	1.19	0.71	1.26	1.00	0.90
Investing Activities
Capital Expenditures	-0.76	-0.67	-0.63	-0.59	-0.40	-0.27	-0.49	-0.48	-0.41	-0.32
Acquisitions	0.00	-0.61	-0.70	0.00	0.00	0.00	-0.06	0.01	-0.04	-0.76
Purchases of Investments	-0.02	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Sales/Maturities of Investments	0.05	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Other Investing Activities	0.00	0.00	-0.02	0.00	-0.01	-0.01	0.01	-0.01	0.00	0.01
Net Cash from Investing Activities	-0.71	-1.28	-1.32	-0.57	-0.39	-0.26	-0.54	-0.46	-0.45	-1.07
Financing Activities
Debt Repayment	-0.02	0.64	0.57	-0.02	-0.01	-0.28	0.26	0.03	-0.11	0.50
Common Stock Issued	0.03	0.06	0.04	0.04	0.04	0.05	0.53	0.06	0.04	0.11
Common Stock Repurchased	-0.67	-0.42	-0.45	-0.46	-1.07	-0.05	-0.33	-0.21	-0.23	-0.23
Dividends Paid	-0.69	-0.66	-0.63	-0.59	-0.56	-0.20	-0.32	-0.37	-0.31	-0.28
Other Financing Activities	0.00	0.00	-0.01	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	-0.01	0.02
Net Cash from Financing Activities	-1.16	-0.39	-0.48	-1.03	-1.61	-0.48	0.14	-0.49	-0.64	0.13
Summary
Effect of Forex Changes on Cash	0.00	-0.01	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Net Change in Cash	-0.03	0.03	-0.20	-0.06	-0.74	0.45	0.31	0.31	-0.09	-0.04
Cash at Beginning of Period	0.25	0.22	0.42	0.47	1.21	0.76	0.46	0.15	0.23	0.27
Cash at End of Period	0.23	0.25	0.22	0.42	0.47	1.21	0.76	0.46	0.15	0.23
Free Cash Flow	1.09	1.04	0.98	0.95	0.85	0.92	0.22	0.78	0.59	0.58
Supplemental Disclosures
Interest Paid	-	0.17	0.14	0.08	0.07	0.06	-	-	-	-
Income Taxes Paid	-	0.15	0.14	0.05	0.10	0.06	-	-	-	-

Source: Company financial statements from annual and quarterly filings. Data as of Aug 31, 2026. Data sources and methodology

Frequently Asked Questions About Darden Restaurants Cash Flow

What is Darden Restaurants's free cash flow?

Darden Restaurants generated free cash flow of $1.09B in fiscal 2026 (fiscal year ended May 31, 2026), operating cash flow of $1.85B minus $760.40M of capital expenditures. That was up 5.1% from $1.04B a year earlier. Free cash flow equaled 8.2% of revenue.

How much does Darden Restaurants spend on capital expenditures?

Darden Restaurants spent $760.40M on capital expenditures in fiscal 2026, compared with $671.90M a year earlier. That equals 41.1% of operating cash flow.

Does Darden Restaurants pay dividends or buy back shares?

Yes. In fiscal 2026 Darden Restaurants returned $693.00M in dividends and $671.70M in share buybacks to shareholders, according to its cash flow statement.

What is free cash flow?

Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. It is the cash a company has left for dividends, buybacks, debt repayment or acquisitions after funding its operations and investment. Full definition