Yum! Brands, Inc. · YUM · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026

Yum Brands: Strong Q2 ex-Pizza Hut, with execution risks

The quarter supports a constructive operating thesis: KFC and Taco Bell growth, digital engagement and emerging-market expansion provide multiple demand drivers. The countercase is that Taco Bell recovery, the Pizza Hut transition and execution of Byte AI must progress without worsening franchisee economics.

Reported Before market openNYSEConsumer Cyclical $38.42B market cap
100quality score

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $1.62 Consensus $1.57
EPS surprise +3.2% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $2.17B Consensus $2.18B
Revenue surprise -0.5% Reported versus consensus

Market reaction

prior-close to event-session close
Stock move +3.3% Event window
SPY move +1.7% Same window
Abnormal move +1.7% Stock minus SPY
Volume 1.2× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift -4.0% Up to 20 sessions
YUMSPY benchmark

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Why did YUM rise 3.3% after beating EPS estimates in FY2026 Q2?What changed in YUM's guidance and outlook in FY2026 Q2?Give me the bull and bear case for YUM after FY2026 Q2 earnings.

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

Yum! announced the sale of Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion plus a potential earn-out, highlighted early sales lift from Kwench in the U.K. and Australia, and described broader Byte AI deployment. Compared with the prior quarter, guidance sentiment moved from raised to maintained, while Taco Bell recovery became a more prominent concern.

Guidance delta

Management's guidance sentiment was maintained, versus raised in the prior quarter.

Key takeaways

  • Excluding Pizza Hut, management reported 7% system-sales growth, 6% unit growth and 4% same-store sales growth.
  • KFC is pairing menu and brand changes with global expansion, while Taco Bell is focused on digital loyalty and recovery.
  • The Pizza Hut sale and expanded Byte AI platform are important portfolio and operating changes, but add transition and execution risk.

Management priorities

  • Advance KFC's visual identity and menu rollout in top markets.
  • Redesign Taco Bell's app and expand loyalty and digital engagement.
  • Scale Byte AI, including Voice AI and specialized agents, across the system.

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Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
YUM EPS earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 9 reported fiscal quarters and 3 future estimate-only quarters. Q1 '24 estimate $1.20 Q1 '24 actual $1.15, miss Q2 '24 estimate $1.33 Q2 '24 actual $1.35, beat Q3 '24 estimate $1.42 Q3 '24 actual $1.37, miss Q2 '25 estimate $1.46 Q2 '25 actual $1.44, miss Q3 '25 estimate $1.49 Q3 '25 actual $1.58, beat Q4 '25 estimate $1.76 Q4 '25 actual $1.73, miss Q1 '26 estimate $1.38 Q1 '26 actual $1.50, beat Q2 '26 estimate $1.57 Q2 '26 actual $1.62, beat Q3 '26 estimate $1.55 Q4 '26 estimate $1.97 Q1 '27 estimate $1.54
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Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusHold51 ratings
Bullish2141.2%
Neutral2752.9%
Bearish35.9%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$139.33Current
$120Low
$164.97Average
$190High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 22, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Baird Outperform OutperformMaintainSep 16, 2026
Wells Fargo Overweight Equal WeightUpgradeSep 10, 2026
Argus Research Buy BuyMaintainAug 17, 2026
JP Morgan Overweight OverweightMaintainAug 4, 2026
RBC Capital Sector Perform Sector PerformMaintainJul 31, 2026
Show 46 more rating actions

Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $139.33. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
Robert W. BairdChris O'Cull$165$140.77 +18.4%Sep 16, 2026
Seaport GlobalAnalyst unavailable$162$140.77 +16.3%Sep 16, 2026
Wells FargoZachary Fadem$175$145.09 +25.6%Sep 10, 2026
Argus ResearchJohn Staszak$180$143.7 +29.2%Aug 17, 2026
RBC CapitalLogan Reich$170$153.92 +22.0%Jul 31, 2026
See 60 more

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Company context

Snapshot as of publication

YUM! 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.

Historical context

All YUM earnings
+2.2%FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026

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Latest beats and misses

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Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-08-12T22:18:33.124355+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-09-04T01:23:15.205020+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-22T05:51:07.659883+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-22T05:51:07.657101+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.