Zacks Research Predicts Yum! Brands' Q2 Earnings (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• Zacks Research raised its Q2 2026 EPS estimate for Yum! Brands to $1.60 from $1.58, and also nudged up longer-term forecasts, signaling improved confidence in the company’s earnings trajectory.
• Yum! Brands’ latest quarter beat expectations, posting $1.50 EPS and $2.06 billion in revenue versus analyst estimates of $1.39 EPS and $2.04 billion in revenue, with revenue up 15.2% year over year.
• The stock remains a consensus “Moderate Buy” among analysts, with 12 Buy ratings and eight Hold ratings, and a consensus price target of $176.22; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share.

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Yum! Brands in a research note issued on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $1.60 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.58. The consensus estimate for Yum! Brands' current full-year earnings is $6.76 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum! Brands' Q3 2026 earnings at $1.69 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.98 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.77 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.52 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.67 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.88 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.29 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $7.36 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $1.74 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $8.01 EPS.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.Yum! Brands's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on YUM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.22.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of YUM opened at $150.73 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.03. Yum! Brands has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $169.39. The stock has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.61.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $44,452.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares in the company, valued at $77,511.84. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $40,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,359,304.96. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,053 shares of company stock worth $171,899. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 37,926 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,897,000 after acquiring an additional 7,676 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,108 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 404.5% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 55,378 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,610,000 after purchasing an additional 44,402 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.6% in the first quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 29,539 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,593,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at $684,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Yum! Brands to $6.77 from $6.60, slightly above the $6.76 consensus, signaling confidence in near-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also increased estimates for FY2027 to $7.36 from $7.20 and FY2028 to $8.01 from $7.96, suggesting analysts see continued profit growth ahead.
• Positive Sentiment: Several quarterly forecasts were nudged higher, including Q2 2026, Q3 2026, Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q3 2027, and Q1 2028, reinforcing a broadly improving earnings trajectory.
• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, which keeps the stock attractive for income-focused investors. Yum! Brands, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.75 Per Share
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s last reported quarter beat expectations on both EPS and revenue, but shares have still faced recent short-term pressure, so investors may be waiting for further evidence that growth is accelerating.
• Negative Sentiment: The restaurant sector is still dealing with cost inflation, competition, and bankruptcy pressure among peers, which can temper enthusiasm for the group. Award-winning pizza restaurant chain files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

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.

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