Yum! Brands, Inc.

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) franchises and operates KFC, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill restaurants. Pizza Hut left the portfolio through transactions completed in August and September 2026. Franchisees operate much of the system, paying fees and royalties to Yum. Their restaurant sales are included in system sales, rather than fully recognized as Yum's own revenue.

Same-store sales measure estimated sales growth at restaurants open in the system for at least a year, including temporarily closed restaurants. That measure separates the existing restaurant base from growth through new openings.

The quarter after the sale agreements

The $1.683 billion pretax Pizza Hut gain dominates the GAAP profit comparison. EPS excluding special items removes the gain and selected costs, gains and related tax effects. It still includes Pizza Hut's ordinary operations before closing. Core operating profit additionally removes foreign-currency translation.

Removing Pizza Hut from both years gives approximately $604 million of quarterly core operating profit against $600 million, or the company's rounded 1% growth. In Q2, the comparable figures were approximately $614 million and $570 million, supporting the 8% growth reported in July.

Taco Bell reverses while KFC grows

Taco Bell's global same-store sales fell 4%, after Q2 growth of 7%. Both compare with the corresponding quarter a year earlier. The U.S. decline was also 4%, while international same-store sales grew 5%.

Taco Bell's core operating profit fell to $255 million from $267 million, after Q2's $310 million versus $262 million. Its contribution to year-over-year profit growth therefore changed from positive $48 million to negative $12 million.

KFC's core operating profit rose to $418 million from $388 million. Its restaurant count increased 7% to 35,421, and same-store sales grew 1%. KFC's increase was mostly absorbed by Taco Bell's decline and corporate items. Across nine months, Yum's EPS excluding special items still rose 8%.

Management says Taco Bell U.S. has outpaced the quick-service industry since the end of September.

Pizza Hut's exit was already public

Yum announced the two sale agreements on June 16 at a combined headline price of $2.7 billion, subject to adjustments. The mainland China sale to Yum China closed August 7. The sale of the remaining business to LongRange Capital closed September 1. The LongRange terms include a potential $75 million earn-out by 2030.

The nine-month cash statement records $2.380 billion of sale proceeds in investing activities. That amount differs from both the original gross transaction value and the $1.683 billion pretax accounting gain. The June announcement also included an additional $4 billion repurchase authorization, which is earlier capacity rather than a new November decision.

Cash, debt and shareholder returns

Nine-month operating cash was $1.398 billion, versus $1.393 billion. Comparing first-half statements gives $475 million in Q3, down from $543 million a year earlier. Capital spending was $87 million in the quarter, versus $94 million.

Quarterly share-repurchase cash was $528 million and common dividends were $203 million. The nine-month total returned was $1.818 billion. Divestment proceeds supplied additional cash beyond ordinary operations.

September cash and equivalents were $2.108 billion. Consolidated debt carrying amounts totaled $11.600 billion, down from $12.275 billion in June and $11.910 billion at year-end. The next results will test Taco Bell's existing-restaurant sales, KFC's expansion and profit growth across the retained portfolio. Read the report on Taco Bell's sales reversal for the latest operating comparison.