DRI vs NWS Comparison

Darden Restaurants is the largest global full-service dining operator, with over $12 billion in system sales across 2,159 company-owned stores at the end of fiscal 2025, spanning the US and Canada. The firm operates 10 banners in four segments, including Olive Garden (43% of sales), LongHorn Steakhouse (25%), and fine dining (21%), which includes The Capital Grille, Ruth's Chris, and Eddie V's. The other 11% of sales comes from smaller concepts such as Yard House and Cheddar's. Darden primarily generates revenue through sales of food and beverage items at its company-owned restaurants. It also earns royalties on sales from 154 franchised locations in US and international markets, which sit within the other segment but are immaterial to consolidated results.

News Corporation is a diversified media and information services conglomerate with significant presence in the US, the UK, and Australia. Key mastheads include The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, New York Post, The Times, The Sun, The Australian, Herald Sun, and The Daily Telegraph. Its 61%-owned REA Group is the dominant property listings platform in Australia. In addition, it owns Harper Collins, one of the largest book publishers in the world, and has a sizable US digital property advertising business, Move. The 65% interest in Foxtel, the Australian pay-TV and streaming provider, was sold in April 2025. The sale to global sports streaming platform, DAZN, was struck at more than 7 times Foxtel's EBITDA.