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Franchisor of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, operating a largely asset-light global quick-service restaurant network.
Franchisor of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, operating a largely asset-light global quick-service restaurant network.
Collects royalties and fees from franchisees, who own and run nearly all the restaurants, so revenue follows system-wide sales and little capital is needed. KFC and Taco Bell drive growth, KFC especially overseas. In 2016 it spun off Yum China, which operates the brands in China under licence.
Moat: narrow (brand, scale, distribution). Three globally recognized brands with a largely franchised, asset-light royalty model, though QSR competition is intense.
Headquarters: Louisville, Kentucky, United States · Founded: 1997 · Employees: 49,000
Size Yum! Brands (YUM) is a United States Consumer Discretionary company (Restaurants) with a market value of $44.0B, the 281st largest of 3,117 United States companies the cockpit tracks. Shares closed at $161.14 on 6 Nov 2026.
Performance Over six months the shares gained 6.6%, against +6.2% for the median peer and -1.1% for the United States market (cap-weighted) — 5th highest of 11 in its peer set.
Growth Revenue grew 9.1% over the last twelve months (peer median +8.0%); the operating margin is 31.6% (peer median 12.4%).
Valuation It trades at 24.8× forward earnings against a peer median of 19.8× (5th most expensive of 10).
Price implies For today's price to make sense, revenue must grow about 0% a year for seven years (Req g). Recent delivered growth is +8%, so the hurdle is -8 pp: the price already allows for a slowdown.
Capital Return on invested capital runs 59.0 points above its cost of capital (7.1% WACC).
Credit Yum! Brands has 6 bonds outstanding ($4.55B), rated BB by the agencies and trading like BBB- at a weighted spread of 124 bp.
Short interest Short interest is 4.3% of the free float (15 Oct 2026).
Next results Next results expected around 10 Feb 2027 (exchange calendar; dates can move).
| TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.80B | $8.21B | $7.55B | $7.08B | $6.84B |
| Revenue growth | — | +9% | +7% | +3% | — |
| Gross profit | $4.12B | $3.79B | $3.58B | $3.50B | $3.31B |
| EBITDA | $3.03B | $2.79B | $2.61B | $2.51B | $2.35B |
| Net income | $3.44B | $1.56B | $1.49B | $1.60B | $1.32B |
| Free cash flow | $1.62B | $1.64B | $1.43B | $1.32B | $1.15B |
| Capital expenditure | $397M | $371M | $257M | $285M | $279M |
| Total debt | $11.6B | $13.2B | $12.3B | $12.0B | $12.7B |
The default views of Competitor Analysis ▸ Charts, drawn from the same data. Open them in the cockpit to change the axes, pin companies and read every value.
| Company | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yum! Brands YUM | $44.0B | +7% | +9% | 32% | 24.8× | -0.2% |
| McDonald's MCD | $196B | 0% | +6% | 46% | 20.7× | 4.1% |
| Restaurant Brands International QSR | $35.1B | -3% | +6% | 27% | 18.1× | 6.3% |
| Yum China YUMC | $17.1B | +6% | +10% | 13% | 15.3× | -7.5% |
| Domino's DPZ | $11.0B | +4% | +4% | 20% | 16.3× | 1.8% |
Peer set: Industry: the same industry and sector in any market, nearest in size. This is the same default set the interactive Competitor Analysis opens with.
| Measure | YUM | Peer median | Rank in peer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-month return | +12.7% | +10.1% | 5th highest of 11 |
| 6-month return | +6.6% | +6.2% | 5th highest of 11 |
| Distance from 52-week high | -5.3% | -10.7% | 4th highest of 11 |
| Revenue growth (TTM) | +9.1% | +8.0% | 5th highest of 11 |
| Operating margin | 31.6% | 12.4% | highest of 11 |
| Forward P/E | 24.8× | 19.8× | 5th most expensive of 10 |
| Growth the price implies (Req g, 7 yrs) | -0.2% | 6.9% | 2nd least demanding of 11 |
| Growth delivered (Del g) | +7.8% | +13.3% | 5th lowest of 11 |
| Hurdle (Req g minus delivered) | -8.0 pp | -5.6 pp | 4th least demanding of 11 |
| ROIC minus cost of capital | +59.0 pp | +7.0 pp | 2nd highest of 11 |
| EV / EBITDA | 17.7× | 16.2× | 3rd most expensive of 11 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.1× | 3.5× | 5th least indebted of 11 |
| Bond spread | 124 bp | 90 bp | 2nd widest of 4 |
| Company | Market | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g | Delivered g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yum! Brands YUM | United States | $44.0B | +7% | +9% | 32% | 24.8× | -0.2% | +7.8% |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG | United States | $43.6B | +6% | +8% | 15% | 27.1× | 15.1% | +14.8% |
| Restaurant Brands International LP QSP-UN.TO | Canada | $35.9B | +12% | +5% | 28% | n/a | 1.0% | +14.6% |
| Restaurant Brands International QSR | United States | $35.1B | -3% | +6% | 27% | 18.1× | 6.3% | +13.7% |
| Darden Restaurants DRI | United States | $25.6B | +15% | +8% | 12% | 19.7× | 7.5% | +12.9% |
| Yum China YUMC | United States | $17.1B | +6% | +10% | 13% | 15.3× | -7.5% | +7.4% |
| Starbucks SBUX | United States | $120B | +1% | +2% | 11% | 32.6× | 18.5% | +5.5% |
| Aramark ARMK | United States | $13.9B | +17% | +11% | 4% | 19.8× | 16.1% | +7.6% |
| Zensho 7550.T | Japan | $12.2B | +41% | +12% | 7% | 34.3× | 6.1% | +16.3% |
| Texas Roadhouse TXRH | United States | $12.1B | +4% | +10% | 8% | 26.8× | 13.8% | +19.6% |
| Domino's DPZ | United States | $11.0B | +4% | +4% | 20% | 16.3× | 1.8% | +3.7% |
Yum! Brands has 6 bonds outstanding with $4.55B face value. The agencies rate it BB; its bonds trade like BBB-. Weighted yield 5.90%, a spread of 124 bp over government bonds.