Zacks Research Decreases Earnings Estimates for Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Yum! Brands in a research report issued on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the restaurant operator will earn $1.57 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.69. The consensus estimate for Yum! Brands’ current full-year earnings is $6.42 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum! Brands’ FY2026 earnings at $6.47 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.43 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.77 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $6.90 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $1.63 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $7.70 EPS.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.65.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $145.36 on Monday. Yum! Brands has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.15. The company has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YUM. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $47,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $557,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $785,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,501,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $12,595,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction of $464,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.