Key Highlights

● Total revenues were $2,169 million, up 12%, with core operating profit up 5%.

● Taco Bell same-store sales rose 7% and KFC rose 2%.

● Aggregate Pizza Hut sale proceeds were $2.7 billion, subject to adjustments.

● The quarterly dividend declared was $0.75 per share, against $0.71 a year earlier.

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) franchises and operates restaurants under the KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill names, with more than 64,000 restaurants reported in its second-quarter materials, and more than 44,000 in 151 markets once Pizza Hut left, per its September release. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol YUM, and Yum is an S&P 500 member, added on October 6, 1997.

Most of the business is franchised, so earnings come largely from royalties and fees tied to franchisee sales, rather than from running every restaurant. That makes system sales and unit growth the key operating measures.

Second-quarter 2026 results

Yum reported second-quarter results on July 30, 2026. Worldwide system sales rose 5% excluding currency effects, or 7% excluding Pizza Hut. By brand, KFC rose 6%, Taco Bell 9% and Pizza Hut fell 2%. Worldwide same-store sales increased 3%, with Taco Bell at 7%, KFC at 2%, Pizza Hut down 1% and Habit Burger & Grill 3%. The company opened 1,053 gross new units in the quarter, and its unit count was up 5%.

Total revenues were $2,169 million, up 12%, and GAAP operating profit was $655 million, up 5%. Core operating profit, the company's adjusted measure, was $683 million, up 5%, or 8% excluding Pizza Hut; by brand, KFC rose 9%, Taco Bell 19% and Pizza Hut fell 14%. GAAP net income was $853 million, or $3.08 per diluted share, against $374 million and $1.33; the release separates special items from underlying results. Net income excluding special items was $449 million, up 11%, or $1.62 per share, up 12%.

For the first half, operating cash flow was $923 million, compared with $850 million, against capital spending of $175 million. Yum repurchased $674 million of shares and paid $413 million of dividends, and held $674 million of cash at June 30. Balance-sheet debt was about $12.3 billion, made up of $2,813 million short-term borrowings and $9,462 million long-term debt.

Pizza Hut sale and dividend

The most significant structural change is the exit from Pizza Hut. Definitive agreements were signed on June 16, 2026. The China portion, sold to Yum China Holdings (NYSE:YUMC), closed on August 7, and the sale of Pizza Hut outside Mainland China to LongRange Capital, for about $1.5 billion, completed per a release dated September 1, 2026. Yum may also receive an earn-out of up to $75 million by 2030. Aggregate proceeds across both deals were $2.7 billion, subject to adjustments.

The quarterly dividend declared was $0.75 per share, against $0.71 a year earlier, so $3.00 annualized. First-half dividends of $413 million compare with free cash after capital spending of roughly $748 million.

Separation Execution and Debt Levels

Yum gives no annual earnings guidance. It restates long-term targets, measured on average over an extended period, of 5% unit growth, 7% system sales growth excluding currency and at least 8% core operating profit growth. Those are management aims. Separately, KFC aims to have its core strategy elements live across its top 20 markets by the end of 2027. Post-sale reporting will show how the smaller portfolio performs.

Risks include consumer spending pressure, franchisee health, commodity and labor costs, currency swings across 151 markets, and execution on the Pizza Hut separation. Debt of about $12.3 billion is substantial.