Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusHold51 ratings
Bullish1937.2%
Neutral2956.9%
Bearish35.9%
Yum! Brands, Inc. · YUM · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026
Yum! Brands Beats on EPS, Raises Taco Bell Margin Guidance as Digital Mix Hits 63%
Yum! Brands delivered a solid start to fiscal 2026, beating EPS estimates by 8.7% and posting 6% system sales growth led by KFC's record 7% unit increase. The company raised Taco Bell's full-year US restaurant-level margin guidance to 24.5 to 25.5% and continued scaling its Byte digital platform, which now drives a 63% digital mix. Capital returns remained robust with $185 million in share repurchases against modest capex of $75 million. However, the stock drifted approximately 6% lower in the weeks following the report, and analysts flagged regional demand softness in China and Canada alongside the still-unresolved Pizza Hut strategic review as open questions.
Reported Before market openNYSEConsumer Cyclical
$41.87B market cap
100quality score
Company context
Snapshot as of publicationYUM! Brands, Inc. (YUM) is a leading global quick-service restaurant enterprise that focuses on the creation, management, and franchising of its restaurant concepts internationally. Its business is organized into four main divisions: KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and The Habit Burger Grill. The company operates establishments under these well-known brands, offering diverse food categories such as chicken, pizza, Mexican-style dishes, and made-to-order chargrilled burgers and sandwiches, among other food products. As of December 31, 2021, YUM! Brands boasted a significant worldwide presence, comprising 26,934 KFC outlets, 18,381 Pizza Hut locations, 7,791 Taco Bell restaurants, and 318 The Habit Burger Grill units, spread across roughly 157 countries and territories. The company, which maintains its headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, was established in 1997. It was formerly known as TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc., before officially adopting the name YUM! Brands, Inc. in May 2002.
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$1.50
Consensus $1
EPS surprise
+8.7%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$2.06B
Consensus $2.04B
Revenue surprise
+0.7%
Reported versus consensus
Earnings History
Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$151.92Current
$120Low
$163.54Average
$190High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 30, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citigroup | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 13, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 16, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Overweight | Equal Weight | Upgrade | Jun 3, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Apr 30, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Sector Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | Apr 20, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Feb 24, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI Group | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Gordon Haskett | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Jan 8, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Jan 7, 2026 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jan 7, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Nov 5, 2025 |
| BMO Capital | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | Nov 5, 2025 |
| Bernstein | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | Nov 5, 2025 |
| Guggenheim | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Redburn Atlantic | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Jun 10, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Jun 4, 2025 |
| TD Securities | Hold | Hold | Maintain | May 1, 2025 |
| Baird | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 7, 2025 |
| Stifel | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Feb 28, 2025 |
| UBS | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 7, 2025 |
| Loop Capital | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Nov 6, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Nov 6, 2024 |
| B of A Securities | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Oct 22, 2024 |
| Argus Research | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Apr 10, 2024 |
| Credit Suisse | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | May 4, 2023 |
| Cowen & Co. | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 9, 2023 |
| Atlantic Equities | Overweight | Neutral | Upgrade | Dec 9, 2021 |
| MKM Partners | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jan 7, 2021 |
| CFRA | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Apr 30, 2020 |
| Jefferies | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Apr 22, 2020 |
| BTIG Research | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Feb 7, 2020 |
| BTIG | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Feb 7, 2020 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Oct 31, 2019 |
| Longbow Research | Underperform | Neutral | Downgrade | Jul 1, 2019 |
| KeyBanc | Equal Weight | Sector Weight | Maintain | Oct 4, 2018 |
| Argus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 5, 2018 |
| Nomura Instinet | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jan 30, 2018 |
| Instinet | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jan 30, 2018 |
| Edward Jones | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Jan 26, 2018 |
| Nomura | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Nov 3, 2017 |
| Bank of America | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Oct 6, 2017 |
| Mizuho | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jun 9, 2017 |
| CLSA | Underperform | Underperform | Maintain | Jul 14, 2016 |
| OTR Global | Sell | Negative | Maintain | Nov 9, 2015 |
| Janney Montgomery Scott | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Nov 20, 2014 |
| Janney Capital | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Nov 20, 2014 |
| FirstEnergy Capital | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Mar 20, 2014 |
| Buckingham Research | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Aug 13, 2013 |
| Raymond James | Market Perform | Underperform | Upgrade | Apr 25, 2013 |
| Argus Capital | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Jan 17, 2013 |
| Susquehanna | Neutral | Positive | Downgrade | Nov 30, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $151.92. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley | Brian Harbour | $185 | $146.58 | +21.8% | Jun 3, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Andrew Strelzik | $168 | $156.76 | +10.6% | May 4, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $180 | $157.71 | +18.5% | May 1, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $177 | $159.46 | +16.5% | Apr 30, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Lauren Silberman | $171 | $161.46 | +12.6% | Apr 15, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $162.04 | +25.1% | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Guggenheim | Gregory Francfort | $180 | $159.06 | +18.5% | Feb 12, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $160 | $159.57 | +5.3% | Feb 5, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Analyst unavailable | $165 | $159.57 | +8.6% | Feb 5, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $185 | $159.57 | +21.8% | Feb 5, 2026 |
| UBS | Dennis Geiger | $180 | $157.16 | +18.5% | Feb 2, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Brian Harbour | $176 | $157.23 | +15.9% | Jan 20, 2026 |
| Gordon Haskett Capital Corporation | Analyst unavailable | $176 | $152.64 | +15.9% | Jan 8, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Jeffrey Bernstein | $179 | $151.41 | +17.8% | Jan 7, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Chris O'Cull | $160 | $148.03 | +5.3% | Nov 17, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $177 | $148.31 | +16.5% | Nov 5, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Brian Mullan | $158 | $148.52 | +4.0% | Nov 5, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $175 | $149.55 | +15.2% | Nov 5, 2025 |
| Bernstein | Danilo Gargiulo | $160 | $149.55 | +5.3% | Nov 5, 2025 |
| Evercore ISI | David Palmer | $180 | $149.55 | +18.5% | Nov 5, 2025 |
| Guggenheim | Gregory Francfort | $160 | $142.38 | +5.3% | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $163 | $148.53 | +7.3% | Oct 22, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $165 | $148.16 | +8.6% | Oct 21, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Logan Reich | $165 | $146.03 | +8.6% | Oct 8, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Brian Mullan | $157 | $153.19 | +3.3% | Oct 2, 2025 |
| Bernstein | Jeffrey Bernstein | $164 | $139.5 | +8.0% | Aug 5, 2025 |
| Guggenheim | Analyst unavailable | $167 | $147 | +9.9% | Aug 4, 2025 |
| Oppenheimer | Brian Bittner | $185 | $147.3 | +21.8% | Apr 28, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | David Tarantino | $174 | $143.47 | +14.5% | Apr 7, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Brian Mullan | $150 | $161.45 | -1.3% | Apr 3, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $176 | $159.37 | +15.9% | Mar 5, 2025 |
| Bernstein | Jeffrey Bernstein | $162 | $128.55 | +6.6% | Jan 7, 2025 |
| Citigroup | Jon Tower | $162 | $133.35 | +6.6% | Oct 17, 2024 |
| Loop Capital Markets | Alton Stump | $143 | $136.85 | -5.9% | Aug 7, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Jon Tower | $160 | $136.85 | +5.3% | Aug 6, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Lauren Silberman | $143 | $133.32 | -5.9% | Aug 6, 2024 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Chris O'Cull | $130 | $126.93 | -14.4% | Jul 22, 2024 |
| Loop Capital Markets | Alton Stump | $135 | $128.31 | -11.1% | Jul 19, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Brian Harbour | $153 | $128.1 | +0.7% | Jul 16, 2024 |
| Evercore ISI | David Palmer | $145 | $127.89 | -4.6% | Jul 16, 2024 |
| Guggenheim | Gregory Francfort | $145 | $129.17 | -4.6% | Jul 11, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | Christine Cho | $150 | $137.3 | -1.3% | Jun 13, 2024 |
| Bernstein | Jeffrey Bernstein | $148 | $135.33 | -2.6% | May 2, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | Andrew Strelzik | $135 | $135.33 | -11.1% | May 2, 2024 |
| Oppenheimer | Brian Bittner | $154 | $128.34 | +1.4% | Jan 5, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | Jared Garber | $135 | $118.15 | -11.1% | Jul 18, 2022 |
| Citigroup | Jon Tower | $156 | $122.97 | +2.7% | Apr 16, 2022 |
| Guggenheim | Gregory Francfort | $153 | $123 | +0.7% | Feb 15, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | John Glass | $150 | $126.47 | -1.3% | Jan 14, 2022 |
| Bank of America Securities | Sara Senatore | $157 | $130.06 | +3.3% | Jan 11, 2022 |
| UBS | Dennis Geiger | $155 | $136.29 | +2.0% | Jan 6, 2022 |
| Jefferies | Andy Barish | $124 | $131.32 | -18.4% | Dec 17, 2021 |
| Atlantic Equities | Edward Lewis | $151 | $132.5 | -0.6% | Dec 9, 2021 |
| BMO Capital | Andrew Strelzik | $130 | $123.87 | -14.4% | Oct 29, 2021 |
| MKM Partners | Brett Levy | $145 | $124.8 | -4.6% | Oct 28, 2021 |
| Wells Fargo | Roger Read | $144 | $125.37 | -5.2% | Oct 18, 2021 |
| Loop Capital Markets | Alton Stump | $120 | $122.54 | -21.0% | Oct 5, 2021 |
| Argus Research | John Staszak | $145 | $129.78 | -4.6% | Jul 30, 2021 |
| J.P. Morgan | John Ivankoe | $120 | $114.52 | -21.0% | Apr 12, 2021 |
Track every rating change on YUM the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeMarket reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
+2.2%
Event window
SPY move
-0.0%
Same window
Abnormal move
+2.2%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
2.1×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
-6.1%
Up to 20 sessions
YUMSPY benchmark
Follow YUM with an agent that reads every filing, transcript, and price print. Free to start.
Try FN2 freeTranscript intelligence
What changed
Q1 FY2026 system sales grew 6% year-over-year, with KFC delivering 6% sales growth and a record 7% unit increase. Taco Bell US restaurant-level margins reached 23.9%, prompting management to raise full-year guidance to 24.5 to 25.5%. Digital sales reached $11 billion at a 63% digital mix, up from near 60% in the prior quarter. The company introduced prefabricated restaurant builds that cut construction time by 17 weeks and piloted AI-driven A/B testing in Taco Bell drive-thrus with plans for nationwide rollout. Capital expenditure remained modest at $75 million, while $185 million was deployed to share repurchases.
Guidance delta
Management raised Taco Bell's full-year US restaurant-level margin guidance to 24.5 to 25.5%, up from the prior outlook. Overall guidance sentiment was characterized as raised, reflecting confidence in continued system sales growth and unit development. The Pizza Hut strategic review remains ongoing with no definitive outcome disclosed this quarter.
Key takeaways
- Q1 system sales rose 6%, with KFC delivering 6% sales growth and a record 7% unit increase.
- Taco Bell US restaurant-level margins hit 23.9%; full-year guidance raised to 24.5 to 25.5%.
- Digital sales reached $11 billion with digital mix climbing to 63%, up from near 60% last quarter.
- Prefabricated restaurant builds reduced construction time by 17 weeks versus traditional builds.
- AI-driven A/B testing piloted in Taco Bell drive-thrus with plans for nationwide rollout.
- Capex held at $75 million; $185 million deployed to share repurchases.
Management priorities
- Scale the Byte digital platform to additional KFC and Taco Bell markets.
- Roll out the Quench beverage platform to UK, Australia, and Canada with further market pipeline.
- Expand the Live Mas Cafe pilot and evaluate broader rollout.
- Continue prefabricated restaurant construction to accelerate new store openings.
- Appoint a Chief Scale Officer and pursue selective franchisee acquisitions.
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-30T04:41:08.372683+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-30T04:41:08.369700+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.