Yum! Brands (YUM) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Yum! Brands, Inc. is a global quick-service restaurant company best known as the parent of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, the company operates and franchises a network of fast‐casual and quick‐service outlets that specialize in chicken, pizza and Mexican‐inspired fare. Through its brand portfolio, Yum! Brands offers a wide array of menu options ranging from fried and grilled chicken to pizzas, tacos and burritos, catering to diverse consumer preferences around the world.

Founded in 1997 as Tricon Global Restaurants following a spin‐off from PepsiCo, the company rebranded to Yum! Brands in 2002. Since its inception, Yum! Brands has grown its global footprint through a combination of company‐owned and franchised restaurants, placing significant emphasis on franchising as a core component of its growth strategy. This model has allowed the company to expand rapidly while leveraging local operators’ market expertise.

Yum! Brands’ restaurants currently serve customers in more than 150 countries and territories, with a heavy presence in North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America. The company continues to pursue international development opportunities, tailoring its menu and restaurant formats to local tastes and cultural preferences while maintaining the operational standards and brand consistency that define each of its flagship chains.

Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer David Gibbs, Yum! Brands focuses on brand innovation, digital ordering and delivery platforms, and sustainable sourcing initiatives. The company’s executive team places an emphasis on operational efficiency, marketing investment and community engagement to drive long‐term growth across its global portfolio.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $143.74 to $146.11
• 50-Day Range: $139.70 to $152.37
• 52-Week Range: $122.13 to $163.30
• Volume: 1.46 million shs
• Average Volume: 1.76 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $40.12 billion
• P/E Ratio: 28.52
• Dividend Yield: 1.96%
• Price Target: $161.23
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Yum! Brands Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Yum! Brands scored higher than 87% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 36th out of 213 stocks in the retail/wholesale sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Yum! Brands has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.43, and is based on 10 buy ratings, 13 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside Potential

Yum! Brands has a consensus price target of $161.23, representing about 11.5% upside from its current price of $144.57.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Yum! Brands has been the subject of 9 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 11.78%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Yum! Brands are expected to grow by 11.78% in the coming year, from $5.94 to $6.64 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Yum! Brands is 28.52, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 277.96.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Yum! Brands is 28.52, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Retail/Wholesale sector average P/E ratio of about 20.74.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Yum! Brands has a PEG Ratio of 2.25. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.34% of the float of Yum! Brands has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Yum! Brands has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.3, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Yum! Brands has recently increased by 10.58%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Yum! Brands pays a meaningful dividend of 1.96%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Yum! Brands has been increasing its dividend for 8 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Yum! Brands is 56.02%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Yum! Brands will have a dividend payout ratio of 42.77% next year. This indicates that Yum! Brands will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 1.1 / 5
• Environmental Score: -3.13

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.34% of the float of Yum! Brands has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Yum! Brands has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.3, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Yum! Brands has recently increased by 10.58%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.3 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.10

News Sentiment

Yum! Brands has a news sentiment score of 1.10. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.91 average news sentiment score of Retail/Wholesale companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 28 news articles for Yum! Brands this week, compared to 30 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 7 people have searched for YUM on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -42% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 3 people have added Yum! Brands to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -50% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Yum! Brands insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $4,271,543.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.33% of the stock of Yum! Brands is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

82.37% of the stock of Yum! Brands is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

YUM Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have YUM shares performed this year?

Yum! Brands' stock was trading at $134.16 at the beginning of the year. Since then, YUM shares have increased by 7.8% and is now trading at $144.5720.

How were Yum! Brands' earnings last quarter?

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August, 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.02. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript.

How will Yum! Brands' stock buyback program work?

Yum! Brands' Board of Directors approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 15th 2024, which permits the company to buy back $2,000,000,000 in outstanding shares, according to EventVestor. This means that the company could purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Does Yum! Brands have any subsidiaries?

Yum! Brands subsidiaries include Dragontail Systems, tictuk technologies, Kvantum, Heartstyles, The Habit Burger Grill, Little Sheep, A&W Restaurants, and others.

Who are Yum! Brands' major shareholders?

Top institutional investors of Yum! Brands include Vanguard Group Inc. (12.45%), State Street Corp (4.73%), Geode Capital Management LLC (2.96%) and Norges Bank (1.47%). Insiders that own company stock include David W Gibbs, Scott Catlett, David Eric Russell, Mark James King, Scott Mezvinsky, Weir Mirian M Graddick, Sabir Sami, Erika Burkhardt, Tracy L Skeans and Paget Leonard Alves.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Yum! Brands?

Shares of YUM stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Yum! Brands own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Yum! Brands investors own include Comcast (CMCSA), Chevron (CVX), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Charles Schwab (SCHW), McKesson (MCK), Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and Toronto Dominion Bank (TD).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 8/05/2025
• Record date for 9/12 Dividend: 9/02/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 9/12 Dividend: 9/02/2025
• Today: 9/06/2025
• Dividend Payable: 9/12/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 11/04/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Retail/Wholesale
• Industry: RETAIL - RESTRNTS
• Sub-Industry: Restaurants
• Current Symbol: NYSE:YUM
• CIK: 1041061
• Web: www.yum.com
• Phone: (502) 874-8300
• Fax: 502-874-8323
• Employees: 40,000
• Year Founded: 1997

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Yum! Brands: $161.23
• High Price Target: $200.00
• Low Price Target: $140.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +11.5%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.43
• Research Coverage: 23 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $5.07
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 28.52
• Forward P/E Ratio: 24.34
• P/E Growth: 2.24
• Net Income: $1.49 billion
• Net Margins: 18.11%
• Pretax Margin: 24.76%
• Return on Equity: -21.01%
• Return on Assets: 24.18%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: N/A
• Current Ratio: 0.82
• Quick Ratio: 0.82

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $7.55 billion
• Price / Sales: 5.32
• Cash Flow: $6.26 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 23.10
• Book Value: ($27.41) per share
• Price / Book: -5.27

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 277,540,000
• Free Float: 276,620,000
• Market Cap: $40.12 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.73