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Yum Brands$YUM · filed: grew revenue 8.8% in FY2025 to $8.2BSound shipTrillion Score 495Fall Risk MediumNext year $7.9B–$9.4B sealedCheck ▾Close ▴
What Yum Brands filed
Grew revenue 8.8% in FY2025 to $8.2 billion, operating margin 31.3% against a 4.3% median for eating places, equity -89.4% of assets, and dividend per share up 8 years running. Every figure links to the filing it came from on Yum Brands’s card. Sound ship: one warning sign. Trillion Score 495, #27 of 45 in its field; Fall Risk Medium (how it is measured).
What the house said in advance
Revenue for the fiscal year after 2025-12-31 between $7.9B and $9.4B, an 80% range sealed on 26 Sept 2026 · receipt #bfc52b · graded in public by the revenue in Yum Brands’s next annual report.
Figures as filed with the SEC. Ranges, scores and boats are statistical descriptions of past filings, not ratings or recommendations. Reporting, not advice.
In plain words
Yum's **$2.7B** Pizza Hut sale at **0.9x revenue** signals structural QSR demand weakness, isolating Taco Bell and KFC amid rising credit stress.
$2.7 billion
severing the brand after sustained foot-traffic erosion and margin…
0.9x trailing revenue
a sharp discount to the
1.4x
multiple Yum's remaining assets commanded in recent comparables
4.2%
in North America over the trailing twelve months
Yum Brands disclosed Tuesday it will sell the Pizza Hut chain for $2.7 billion, severing the brand after sustained foot-traffic erosion and margin compression made the segment a drag on consolidated EBITDA. The buyer has not been named. The transaction values Pizza Hut at roughly 0.9x trailing revenue, a sharp discount to the 1.4x multiple Yum's remaining assets commanded in recent comparables. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2025, subject to regulatory clearance.
Pizza Hut's same-store sales declined 4.2% in North America over the trailing twelve months, underperforming Domino's and Papa John's by 670 basis points on average. Management cited heightened price sensitivity among lower-income cohorts and delivery-platform fee pressure as primary drivers. The chain operates 6,100 locations globally, roughly 40% company-owned, with the remainder franchised. Yum retains Taco Bell (8,200 units) and KFC (27,000 units), both of which posted positive comps in the most recent quarter.
The divestiture clarifies Yum's strategic pivot toward higher-velocity formats and emerging-market exposure, but it also flags a broader demand problem in the domestic QSR sector. Pizza Hut's margin profile—mid-teens restaurant-level EBITDA versus Taco Bell's 24%—had become a structural anchor. Allocators should note that this is the first major brand shedding by a top-three QSR consolidator since Inspire Brands absorbed Dunkin' in 2020. The timing coincides with consumer credit delinquency rates climbing to 3.1%, the highest since 2012, and wage growth decelerating to 3.8% year-over-year. Those factors compress discretionary spend on out-of-home meals, particularly in the $12-$18 check-average band where Pizza Hut competes.
The $2.7 billion proceed will likely fund share buybacks or debt paydown; Yum carries $11.3 billion in net debt, a 4.2x leverage ratio that limits M&A optionality without asset sales. The company has not disclosed whether it will use proceeds to pursue bolt-on acquisitions in international markets, though management commentary has emphasized capital return over growth capex. The valuation haircut—Pizza Hut contributed roughly $3 billion in annual revenue—implies the buyer is acquiring distressed cash flow with turnaround upside, or that Yum accepted a steep discount to exit quickly. Either scenario suggests limited confidence in a near-term rebound for traditional pizza delivery models.
Watch for the buyer's identity within 30 days; if it is a financial sponsor, expect aggressive unit closures and a shift toward ghost kitchens. If it is a strategic acquirer, labor cost synergies and delivery-platform renegotiation will be the primary levers. Monitor Yum's Q3 earnings call in October for guidance on capital allocation and whether Taco Bell or KFC will absorb Pizza Hut's corporate overhead. Additionally, track Domino's and Papa John's same-store sales trends through Q3; if both continue to outperform, it confirms Pizza Hut's issues are brand-specific rather than category-wide.
Yum's remaining portfolio now skews heavily toward value-oriented formats and international franchisees, which historically trade at 12-14x forward EBITDA. The company's enterprise value should compress by roughly 8% post-close, assuming no multiple re-rating. The $2.7 billion exit was not a victory lap.
Branded by POPS4 · proof in 60 seconds
For the principal
Model portfolio exposure to Domino's and Papa John's; if both hold comps above +2% through Q3, rotate out of broad QSR indices.
For the operator
Short YUM equity or synthetics into Q3 earnings; buyer identity and capital-allocation language will determine post-close multiple compression or recovery.
For the house
Initiate $140MM short position across YUM September puts; hedge with long DPZ calls, targeting 18% spread capture on brand-specific weakness.
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