Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.03), Briefing.com reports. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 17.95%.The company had revenue of $2.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Yum! Brands’ conference call:

• Yum reported strong momentum at its two largest brands — Taco Bell gained share with ~7% same-store sales growth and KFC delivered record international openings, with both brands driving ~10% divisional core operating profit growth.
• Aggressive unit development and franchise scale — the company opened ~4,550 restaurants in 2025 (KFC ~3,000), expects >5% net new unit growth ex-Pizza Hut, and highlighted franchise partner consolidation (Devyani/Sapphire, Carlyle) as a catalyst for faster international expansion.
• Digital and technology are key growth levers — digital sales topped ~$11 billion (up ~25%) with digital mix near 60%, and the Byte platform is live in ~38,000 restaurants, delivering operational improvements (fewer aggregator failures, reduced stock-outs) and expected to drive further AUV and margin gains.
• Pizza Hut remains a near-term drag and is under strategic review — global same-store sales were down ~1%, the company plans ~250 targeted U.S. closures in H1 2026 and expects Pizza Hut Q1 core operating profit to be down ~15% due to one‑time Hut Forward investments, leaving outcome and timing uncertain.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded up $2.26 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $161.83. The company had a trading volume of 385,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,154,184. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $44.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.91.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

Key Headlines Impacting Yum! Brands

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reaffirmed a Buy on YUM and set a $180 price target (~13% upside from the recent level), signaling continued analyst conviction in Yum’s long-term growth (Taco Bell momentum and potential re-rating after Pizza Hut actions). TD Cowen Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Yum raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (a ~5.6% increase), which supports income-focused holders and signals management confidence in cash flow. Dividend Increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Top-line beats and same-store sales strength (led by Taco Bell and KFC international growth) show underlying sales momentum, partially offsetting profit concerns. Same-store Sales Beat
• Negative Sentiment: Yum reported Q4 non‑GAAP EPS of $1.73, missing consensus by a few cents — a near-term catalyst for selling pressure as margins showed stress despite revenue beating estimates. Earnings Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Yum said it will close about 250 underperforming U.S. Pizza Hut locations and is conducting a strategic review of the brand (including potential sale), raising uncertainty around near-term costs, restructuring and the future contribution from Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut Closures
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged margin pressure (a “margin squeeze”) even as sales rose, which tempers outlook for near-term profitability and could weigh on multiples until cost leverage returns. Margin Squeeze
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling was reported (~$6.3M across insiders), a datapoint some investors view as a cautionary signal even though it’s not atypical for the executive class. Insider Selling

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $177.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI raised Yum! Brands from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “positive” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer downgraded Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $42,274.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 24,332 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.10, for a total value of $3,627,901.20. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 27,398 shares of company stock worth $4,090,015 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $126,945,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,944,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in Yum! Brands by 682.1% in the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 254,602 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,727,000 after acquiring an additional 222,050 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,348,846 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $509,025,000 after purchasing an additional 176,221 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 83.1% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 350,308 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,900,000 after acquiring an additional 159,026 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.