Q1 EPS Estimates for Yum! Brands Boosted by Zacks Research

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) – Analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Yum! Brands in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $1.37 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.34. The consensus estimate for Yum! Brands’ current full-year earnings is $5.94 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum! Brands’ Q2 2026 earnings at $1.58 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.65 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.00 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.60 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.42 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.65 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.83 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.31 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $7.20 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $7.96 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on YUM. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $177.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 price target on Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Oppenheimer lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE YUM opened at $163.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.04. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $165.32.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.03). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 18.98%.The business had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 51.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $265,383.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total transaction of $1,937,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,365,096. This represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,244,938. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Yum! Brands by 21.8% in the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,930 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 5,413 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $255,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

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.