Is SM or DARDEN a better dividend investment in 2026?

SM currently yields 2.55% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. DARDEN yields 4.00% with 5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: DARDEN offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between SM and DARDEN?

SM has a forward dividend yield of 2.55% ($0.82/share annually). DARDEN yields 4.00% ($2.00/share annually). The yield gap is 1.45 percentage points.

Home › Compare › SM vs DARDEN

SM vs DARDEN: Dividend Comparison 2026

SM yields 2.55% · DARDEN yields 4.00%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 SM wins by $191.53M in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

● Live price

2.55%

Share price

$32.13

Annual div

$0.82

5Y div CAGR

100%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$191.56M

Annual income

$178,145,793.19

Full SM calculator →

DARDEN

● Live price

4.00%

Share price

$50.00

Annual div

$2.00

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$28.0K

Annual income

$899.19

Full DARDEN calculator →

Portfolio growth — SM vs DARDEN

📍 SM pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

🛡️

Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	SM	DARDEN
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, SM + DARDEN cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

SM pays

DARDEN pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$216.93/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$151,423,924.21/yr

DARDEN

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$340.00/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$764.31/yr

At 15% tax rate, SM beats the other by $151,423,159.90/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of SM + DARDEN for your $10,000?

SM: 50%DARDEN: 50%

100% DARDEN50/50100% SM

Portfolio after 10yr

$95.79M

Annual income

$89,073,346.20/yr

Blended yield

92.99%

📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on SM right now

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Sell

Consensus: Buy

Price Target

$29.00

-9.7% upside vs current

Range: $19.00 — $49.00

Altman Z

1.7

Piotroski

6/9

DARDEN

No analyst data

Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

SM buys

DARDEN buys

No recent congressional trades found for SM or DARDEN in the last 90 days.

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricSMDARDEN

Forward yield	2.55%	4.00% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$0.82	$2.00 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	5% ✓
5-year div CAGR	100% ✓	5%
Portfolio after 10y	$191.56M ✓	$28.0K
Annual income after 10y	$178,145,793.19 ✓	$899.19
Total dividends collected	$190.53M ✓	$6.4K
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Energy	Stock

Year-by-year: SM vs DARDEN ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	SM Portfolio	SM Income/yr	DARDEN Portfolio	DARDEN Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,210	$510.43	$11,120	$420.00	+$90.00 → SM
2	$13,065	$1,069.55	$12,357	$458.31	+$708.00 → SM
3	$16,309	$2,329.84	$13,721	$499.76	+$2.6K → SM
4	$22,887	$5,436.27	$15,227	$544.58	+$7.7K → SM
5	$38,749	$14,259.57	$16,885	$593.02	+$21.9K → SM
6	$86,586	$45,125.35	$18,713	$645.34	+$67.9K → SM
7	$281,125	$188,477.75	$20,724	$701.81	+$260.4K → SM
8	$1,444,621	$1,143,816.65	$22,938	$762.73	+$1.42M → SM
9	$12,532,176	$10,986,431.99	$25,372	$828.41	+$12.51M → SM
10	$191,555,222	$178,145,793.19	$28,047	$899.19	+$191.53M → SM

SM vs DARDEN: Complete Analysis 2026

SM — Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. As of February 24, 2022, it had 492.0 million barrels of oil equivalent of estimated proved reserves. It also has working interests in 825 gross productive oil wells and 483 gross productive gas wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St. Mary Land & Exploration Company and changed its name to SM Energy Company in May 2010. SM Energy Company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Full SM Calculator →

DARDEN — Stock

DARDEN is a dividend-paying stock. Use this calculator to estimate your future dividend income, DRIP compounding returns, and passive income potential from investing in DARDEN shares.

Full DARDEN Calculator →

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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.