Darden Restaurants Management

Management criteria checks 2/4

Darden Restaurants' CEO is Rick Cardenas, appointed in Jan 2021, has a tenure of 3.25 years. total yearly compensation is $8.50M, comprised of 11.8% salary and 88.2% bonuses, including company stock and options. directly owns 0.043% of the company’s shares, worth $8.03M. The average tenure of the management team and the board of directors is 8.5 years and 9.5 years respectively.

Key information

Rick Cardenas

Chief executive officer

US$8.5m

Total compensation

CEO salary percentage	11.8%
CEO tenure	3.3yrs
CEO ownership	0.04%
Management average tenure	8.5yrs
Board average tenure	9.5yrs

Recent management updates

Recent updates

CEO Compensation Analysis

How has Rick Cardenas's remuneration changed compared to Darden Restaurants's earnings?
Date	Total Compensation	Salary	Company Earnings
Feb 25 2024	n/a	n/a	US$1b
Nov 26 2023	n/a	n/a	US$1b
Aug 27 2023	n/a	n/a	US$985m
May 28 2023	US$9m	US$1m	US$984m
Feb 26 2023	n/a	n/a	US$950m
Nov 27 2022	n/a	n/a	US$911m
Aug 28 2022	n/a	n/a	US$917m
May 29 2022	US$5m	US$796k	US$955m
Feb 27 2022	n/a	n/a	US$1b
Nov 28 2021	n/a	n/a	US$923m
Aug 29 2021	n/a	n/a	US$827m
May 30 2021	US$4m	US$745k	US$632m
Feb 28 2021	n/a	n/a	-US$216m
Nov 29 2020	n/a	n/a	-US$112m
Aug 30 2020	n/a	n/a	-US$184m
May 31 2020	US$3m	US$686k	-US$49m
Feb 23 2020	n/a	n/a	US$639m
Nov 24 2019	n/a	n/a	US$631m
Aug 25 2019	n/a	n/a	US$722m
May 26 2019	US$3m	US$687k	US$719m
Feb 24 2019	n/a	n/a	US$685m
Nov 25 2018	n/a	n/a	US$679m
Aug 26 2018	n/a	n/a	US$651m
May 27 2018	US$3m	US$614k	US$604m
Feb 25 2018	n/a	n/a	US$554m
Nov 26 2017	n/a	n/a	US$502m
Aug 27 2017	n/a	n/a	US$493m
May 28 2017	US$3m	US$560k	US$483m

Compensation vs Market: Rick's total compensation ($USD8.50M) is above average for companies of similar size in the UK market ($USD5.62M).

Compensation vs Earnings: Rick's compensation has increased by more than 20% in the past year.

CEO

Rick Cardenas (55 yo)

3.3yrs

Tenure

US$8,500,029

Compensation

Mr. Ricardo Cardenas, also known as Rick, serves as President at Darden Restaurants, Inc. since January 4, 2021 and its Chief Executive Officer and Director since May 30, 2022 and served as its Chief Opera...

Leadership Team

Name	Position	Tenure	Compensation	Ownership
Ricardo Cardenas	CEO, President & Director	3.3yrs	US$8.50m	0.043% $ 8.0m
Rajesh Vennam	Senior VP & CFO	3.3yrs	US$3.36m	0.0050% $ 929.7k
John Martin	President of Specialty Restaurant Group	20.3yrs	US$3.17m	0.012% $ 2.2m
Todd Burrowes	President of Longhorn Steakhouse	8.8yrs	US$3.03m	0.039% $ 7.2m
Daniel Kiernan	President of Olive Garden	6.3yrs	US$3.27m	0.018% $ 3.3m
Kyle Holmes	Managing Partner	no data	no data	no data
Jon Norem	Managing Partner	no data	no data	no data
John Rucker	Managing Partner	no data	no data	no data
Christopher Chang	Senior VP & Chief Information Officer	8yrs	no data	no data
Kevin Kalicak	Vice President of Investor Relations & Corporate Analysis	9.3yrs	no data	no data
Matthew Broad	Senior VP	8.5yrs	US$1.71m	0.016% $ 3.0m
Susan Connelly	Senior VP and Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer	8.7yrs	no data	0.0054% $ 1.0m

8.5yrs

Average Tenure

60yo

Average Age

Experienced Management: 0I77's management team is seasoned and experienced (8.5 years average tenure).

Board Members

Name	Position	Tenure	Compensation	Ownership
Ricardo Cardenas	CEO, President & Director	1.9yrs	US$8.50m	0.043% $ 8.0m
Margaret Atkins	Independent Director	9.5yrs	US$276.81k	0.0018% $ 329.8k
James Fogarty	Independent Director	10.3yrs	US$290.76k	0.020% $ 3.8m
Nana Mensah	Independent Director	7.4yrs	US$286.55k	0.000010% $ 1.9k
Charles Sonsteby	Independent Director	10.3yrs	US$352.37k	0.021% $ 4.0m
Cynthia Jamison	Independent Chair of the Board	10.3yrs	US$307.68k	0.0058% $ 1.1m
Timothy Wilmott	Independent Director	5.6yrs	US$275.03k	0.023% $ 4.2m
Juliana Chugg	Independent Director	2.1yrs	US$281.75k	0.0016% $ 300.0k
William Simon	Independent Director	9.5yrs	US$296.55k	0.0053% $ 980.0k

9.5yrs

Average Tenure

64yo

Average Age

Experienced Board: 0I77's board of directors are considered experienced (9.5 years average tenure).

Darden Restaurants Management

Management criteria checks 2/4

Key information

Recent management updates

Darden Restaurants, Inc. Announces Re-Designation of Todd A. Burrowes from President, LongHorn Steakhouse to President, Business Developmentm, Effective May 27, 2024

Darden Restaurants, Inc. Announces Board Changes

Non-Executive Chairman recently sold US$6.8m worth of stock

Non-Executive Chairman recently sold US$5.6m worth of stock

President of Specialty Restaurant Group recently sold US$856k worth of stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc., Annual General Meeting, Sep 20, 2023

Recent updates

Now 20% undervalued after recent price drop

Darden Restaurants, Inc. Announces Re-Designation of Todd A. Burrowes from President, LongHorn Steakhouse to President, Business Developmentm, Effective May 27, 2024

Third quarter dividend of US$1.31 announced

Third quarter 2024 earnings released: EPS: US$2.63 (vs US$2.36 in 3Q 2023)

Now 23% undervalued

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) announces an Equity Buyback for $1,000 million worth of its shares.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. to Report Q3, 2024 Results on Mar 21, 2024

Now 21% undervalued

Upcoming dividend of US$1.31 per share at 3.2% yield

Second quarter 2024 earnings released: EPS: US$1.77 (vs US$1.54 in 2Q 2023)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend, Payable on February 1, 2024

Darden Restaurants, Inc. to Report Q2, 2024 Results on Dec 15, 2023

Now 20% undervalued after recent price drop

Now 22% undervalued after recent price drop

Upcoming dividend of US$1.31 per share at 3.7% yield

Darden Restaurants, Inc. Announces Board Changes

New minor risk - Financial position

First quarter 2024 earnings released: EPS: US$1.61 (vs US$1.58 in 1Q 2023)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. to Report Q1, 2024 Results on Sep 21, 2023

Non-Executive Chairman recently sold US$6.8m worth of stock

Non-Executive Chairman recently sold US$5.6m worth of stock

Full year 2023 earnings released: EPS: US$8.07 (vs US$7.47 in FY 2022)

Upcoming dividend of US$1.31 per share at 3.2% yield

President of Specialty Restaurant Group recently sold US$856k worth of stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc., Annual General Meeting, Sep 20, 2023

Full year 2023 earnings released: EPS: US$8.07 (vs US$7.47 in FY 2022)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) completed the acquisition of Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. (NasdaqGS:RUTH).

Darden Restaurants, Inc. to Report Q4, 2023 Results on Jun 22, 2023

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. (NasdaqGS:RUTH) for approximately $710 million.

Independent Director recently sold US$420k worth of stock

Upcoming dividend of US$1.21 per share at 3.1% yield

Third quarter 2023 earnings released: EPS: US$2.36 (vs US$1.95 in 3Q 2022)

President of Specialty Restaurant Group recently sold US$284k worth of stock

Upcoming dividend of US$1.21 per share

Second quarter 2023 earnings released: EPS: US$1.54 (vs US$1.50 in 2Q 2022)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. Provides Earnings Guidance for the Full Year 2023

Darden Restaurants, Inc. to Report Q2, 2023 Results on Dec 16, 2022

Independent Director recently sold US$128k worth of stock

Upcoming dividend of US$1.21 per share

First quarter 2023 earnings released: EPS: US$1.58 (vs US$1.78 in 1Q 2022)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. to Report Q1, 2023 Results on Sep 22, 2022

Executive Chairman recently sold US$5.2m worth of stock

Full year 2022 earnings released: EPS: US$7.47 (vs US$4.85 in FY 2021)

Independent Director recently sold US$66k worth of stock

Independent Director recently bought US$1.2m worth of stock

Upcoming dividend of US$1.21 per share

Darden Restaurants, Inc., Annual General Meeting, Sep 21, 2022

Full year 2022 earnings released: EPS: US$7.47 (vs US$4.85 in FY 2021)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. to Report Q4, 2022 Results on Jun 23, 2022

Insufficient new directors

Director recently bought US$248k worth of stock

Upcoming dividend of US$1.10 per share

Now 21% undervalued after recent price drop

Darden Restaurants, Inc. to Report Q3, 2022 Results on Mar 24, 2022

Upcoming dividend of US$1.10 per share

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT) acquired Olive Garden Property in Pennsylvania US from Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) for $4.2 million.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. Provides Earnings Guidance for the Fiscal 2022

Second quarter 2022 earnings: EPS in line with analyst expectations despite revenue beat

Insufficient new directors

Upcoming dividend of US$1.10 per share

Insider recently sold US$474k worth of stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. Increases Earnings Outlook for Fiscal 2022

First quarter 2022 earnings released: EPS US$1.78 (vs US$0.29 in 1Q 2021)

Full year 2021 earnings released: EPS US$4.85 (vs US$0.40 loss in FY 2020)

Upcoming dividend of US$1.10 per share

Full year 2021 earnings released: EPS US$4.85 (vs US$0.40 loss in FY 2020)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. Provides Earnings Guidance for the Fiscal Year 2022

Upcoming dividend of US$0.88 per share

Senior VP recently sold US$682k worth of stock