XVARY Composite Score
67
/ 100
Average
Combines growth, value, risk, and momentum factors into a single institutional-grade score.
Start here if you're new
What it is
Yum owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, plus a small Habit Burger unit.
How it gets paid
Last year Brands made $8.2B in revenue. KFC was the main engine at $4.35B, or 53% of sales.
Why it's growing
Revenue grew 8.8% last year. Progress at kfc, which generates most of its income overseas, was powered by expansion of the store base and solid same-store sales.
What just happened
Yum missed adjusted EPS by ~2.8% on roughly $2.5B of Q4 net sales.
At a Glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
95/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
25.8x trailing p/e — priced about right
2.1% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
54.5% return on capital — a money-printing machine
XVARY composite: 67/100 — average
What They Do
Yum owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, plus a small Habit Burger unit.
98% of the stores are franchised (other people run them). So you collect fees without paying for most store labor and rent. KFC is 53% of system sales and 49% of operating profit. That gap is the whole trick.
How They Make Money
$8.2B
annual revenue · their business grew +8.8% last year
KFC
$4.35B
Taco Bell
$2.13B
Pizza Hut
$1.64B
Habit Burger
$0.08B
The Products That Matter
Collecting fees and royalties
Franchise Revenue
$2.5B · high-value stream
this $2.5B stream comes from a 61,000+ restaurant system. that's the capital-light engine inside the story.
margin driver
Operating global restaurant brands
KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell
61,000+ restaurants
the three brands support roughly 61,000 restaurants worldwide. at this scale, the brands are the infrastructure.
global scale
Company-operated revenue base
Company Restaurants
not broken out here
the page gives you $8.2B of total revenue but not a clean split for company-operated stores. that's a reminder that YUM is easier to understand as a franchise model than as a store-by-store operator.
data thin
Key Numbers
25.8x
trailing P/E
You are paying 25.8 times trailing earnings for a restaurant group with 37.0% operating margin. That is not cheap.
54.5%
return on capital
Return on capital means profit from invested dollars. At 54.5%, Yum turns a lot of each dollar into earnings.
37.0%
operating margin
Operating margin means what is left after running the business. At 37.0%, the model keeps a lot of each dollar.
2.1%
dividend yield
You get 2.1% in cash while you wait. That is the calm part of owning a 25.8x stock.
Financial Health
B++
Strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 95 / 100
- long-term debt $11.9B (21% of capital)
- net profit margin 23.3% — keeps 23 cents of every dollar in revenue
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total Return vs. Market
You invested $10000 in YUM 3 years ago → it's now worth $12900.
The index would have given you $13880.
source: institutional data · total return
What Just Happened
eps miss
Yum missed adjusted EPS by ~2.8% on roughly $2.5B of Q4 net sales (revenue beat, EPS short).
Fourth-quarter reported net sales were about $2.5B, ahead of Wall Street. Adjusted EPS was $1.73 versus about $1.78 expected. The EPS miss was small, but the stock is still priced like execution is expected.
$2.5B
q4 net sales
$1.73
adj. eps
67.5%
gross margin
the number that mattered
Adjusted EPS of $1.73 mattered most because it landed below the ~$1.78 consensus, while net sales beat — a mixed print for a 25.8x stock.
-
Two out of three hasn’t been bad for yum!
-
Brands.
-
The quick-service restaurant company had a largely successful 2025, with earnings climbing 10%, to $6.05 a share, on a 9% increase in revenues.
-
Following the pattern seen in 2024, the improvement was powered by healthy growth in core operating profit at kfc (+9%) and taco bell (+8%).
-
Progress at kfc, which generates most of its income overseas, was powered by expansion of the store base (more below) and solid same-store sales (+3%).
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What Could Go Wrong
The #1 risk is consumer traffic and franchise growth slowing across KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell.
Med
Consumer spending pressure
if diners pull back, pressure shows up across the whole system. quick-service holds up better than casual dining, but it is not recession-proof.
revenue exposure: the full $8.2B company revenue base
Med
Franchise opening slowdown
the model looks best when the store base keeps expanding. if franchisees slow openings, the capital-light flywheel loses momentum.
direct pressure point: the $2.5B franchise revenue stream
Low
Balance-sheet leverage
$11.9B of long-term debt is manageable for this business, but it still reduces flexibility if growth slows and rates stay higher.
debt load: $11.9B, equal to 21% of capital
Low
Mature-stock valuation risk
at 25.8x trailing earnings, you are paying for consistency. if growth merely stays okay instead of good, the multiple does not have much room to expand.
valuation anchor: 25.8x trailing p/e
traffic weakness or slower franchise expansion would pressure the whole $8.2B revenue base — and especially the $2.5B stream that makes YUM's model attractive.
Source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay Attention To
Metric
Whether franchise revenue keeps outgrowing the rest of the model
$2.5B of franchise revenue is only about 30% of total revenue, but it is the cleanest part of the story. if that mix rises, the margin case strengthens.
Trend
Whether 2026 looks like 2025 again
full-year earnings grew 10% in 2025. if that pace slips while the stock stays near the top of its $122–$161 range, expectations get harder to satisfy.
Risk
Institutional flow, not just institutional ownership
532 buyers versus 535 sellers is basically flat. still, the sign is negative, and steady compounders do not love losing sponsorship.
Calendar
The next quarter's EPS line
the last reported quarter (q4 2025) printed $1.73 adjusted EPS. you want that line moving up without margin giving back too much of the gain.
Analyst Rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3. in human-speak: analysts see a steady stock, not a breakout.
risk profile
above average
stability score 2 — safer than roughly 80% of stocks. this reads more like a consumer staple than a speculative restaurant name.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — the chart is behaving normally. no panic, no breakout.
earnings predictability
95 / 100
management usually delivers what the market expects. great for trust, less great if you're waiting for a surprise rocket ship.
Source: institutional data
Institutional Activity
532 buyers vs. 535 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.2B shares.
Source: institutional data
Price Targets
3-5 year target range
$129
$214
$156
Current price
$172
Target midpoint · +10% from current · 3-5yr high: $270 (+75% · 16% ann'l return)
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