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Yum Brands

NYSE: YUM · USD

Yum Brands (YUM) Economic Moat Analysis—

Avantages concurrentiels, preuves datées et risques d’érosion.

Analyse à actualiser

Narrow avantage concurrentiel

Yum has a narrow moat from established restaurant brands reinforced by its franchise and pooled advertising system. Taco Bell's sustained sales growth and KFC's demonstrated growth support current brand value. Pricing power is limited: actual price increases have not fully recovered cost inflation, and Pizza Hut continues to weaken. The passages do not establish a separate cost advantage, network effect or customer lock-in. Pizza Hut sale agreements are disclosed, but completion is not established.

Intangible assets

Protected brands, supported by franchise-funded advertising and extensive distribution, attract consumer demand and franchise investment. Taco Bell and KFC operating results substantiate this advantage beyond management's category-leadership assertions.

Durabilité
Taco Bell's 22 consecutive quarters of positive sales growth, KFC's same-store sales growth and substantial restaurant development support persistence. Trademark protection and recurring advertising contributions reinforce the brands, but the evidence supports a narrow advantage rather than exceptional durability.
Concurrents
Comparaison non établie
Risques d’érosion
Intense competition and incomplete inflation pass-through constrain monetization. Pizza Hut's repeated same-store sales declines and Turkey restaurant closures demonstrate actual erosion and franchise execution risk. Consumer preferences, franchise quality and intellectual-property enforcement remain additional potential risks.
Ce qui invaliderait la thèse
The thesis would be invalidated by sustained same-store sales declines spreading to Taco Bell and KFC alongside declining franchise revenues excluding currency and ownership changes, persistent net restaurant contraction, or widespread franchise failures showing that brand demand and franchise economics no longer support the system.
Preuves (8) · Contre-preuves (8)

Évolution depuis la dernière analyse

  • Retain the previous narrow verdict; the supplied evidence continues to support a brand-based advantage with limited pricing power.
  • Add explicit criterion assessments using disclosed operating results, actual capital deployment, adopted incentive arrangements and governance disclosures.
  • Identify realized Turkey closures and Habit operating losses as additional constraints on resilience and execution.
  • Continue to treat the Pizza Hut transactions as signed agreements with expected closing, without assuming completion.

Limites de l’analyse

  • Competition passages disclose generic categories rather than named competitive companies; competitor arrays are therefore empty. Named suppliers, licensees, directors' employers and compensation references do not establish named restaurant competitors.
  • Evidence is confined to the supplied filings. Category leadership, brand strength and strategic benefits are issuer assertions; reported operating achievements provide stronger support but do not isolate brand effects from pricing, mix or economic conditions.
  • Sales growth provides indirect evidence of repeat demand. Customer cohorts, traffic-versus-ticket decomposition, franchise renewal rates and comparative franchise returns are not supplied.
  • Actual price increases and incomplete cost recovery are disclosed, but the passages do not establish contractual authority over franchise menu prices or freedom to reset royalty terms.
  • The proxy supplies adopted compensation and governance arrangements, but complete current executive ownership amounts, ownership compliance and detailed PSU payout outcomes are absent.
  • The latest supplied filing was filed August 5, 2026 and reports through June 30, 2026. Its expected September closing date does not establish that Pizza Hut was sold by the assessment date. All source dates retain dateKind filed.
  • Scale, digital sales and pooled procurement do not establish comparative cost superiority, network effects or material switching costs.

Indicateurs financiers à confronter à la thèse

Ratios calculés à partir des publications annuelles. Une valeur manquante reste indisponible. Les graphiques détaillés sont accessibles dans les autres onglets.

Indicateurs financiers à confronter à la thèse
PériodeGross marginOperating marginROICFCF margin
202173.8%32.5%81.2%22.4%
202274.5%32.0%69.8%16.8%
202374.9%32.8%75.0%18.6%
202471.9%31.8%63.8%19.0%
202569.8%31.3%55.6%20.0%

Pouvoir de fixation des prix—

Données vérifiées insuffisantes pour attribuer un score.

Management—

Données vérifiées insuffisantes pour attribuer un score.

Sources et méthode

Analyse à actualiser · Mis à jour 19/10/2026 · Version 8

Interprétation IA fondée sur des extraits vérifiés. Les déclarations de l’entreprise et les limites de couverture restent explicites.

Méthode quality-scores-2 : six catégories de même poids. Le score global exige une couverture complète. Les données manquantes ne valent pas zéro. Les évaluations qualitatives sont des interprétations sourcées, pas des probabilités. 3/6 · 23/10/2026

Moat—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Pouvoir de fixation des prix—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Prévisibilité100

Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.

Nondeclining revenue years (%)
100.00
Revenue growth volatility (pp)
2.18
Positive FCF years (%)
100.00
FCF margin volatility (pp)
1.85

Solidité financière26

Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.

debtFcfGrade
10.48
netDebtEbitGrade
12.97
interestCoverageGrade
33.92
currentRatioGrade
47.65
Debt / FCF (x)
7.27
Net debt / operating income (x)
4.35
Interest coverage (x)
4.73
Current ratio (x)
1.35

Allocation du capital99

Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.

3-year pre-tax operating return (%)
80.33
3-year average dilution (%)
-0.82
3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
1.04
cashConversionGrade
94.55

Qualité du management—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Preuves

Our 16 trademarks, many of which are registered in various jurisdictions, create brand awareness and help build goodwill among our customers.

Risk factors: trademarks and brand goodwill · Dépôt 20/02/2026

We rely on a combination of legal protections, including trademark registrations, contractual terms, copyrights, patents and common law rights, such as unfair competition, passing off and trade secret laws to protect our intellectual property from potential infringement.

Risk factors: intellectual-property protections · Dépôt 20/02/2026

When multiple franchisees operate in the same country or region, the national and regional advertising spending is typically conducted by a cooperative to which the franchisees and Company-owned restaurants, if any, contribute funds as a percentage of restaurants’ sales.

Business: franchise advertising cooperatives · Dépôt 20/02/2026

The contributions are primarily used to pay for expenses relating to purchasing media for advertising, market research, commercial production, talent payments and other support functions for the respective Concepts.

Business: uses of advertising contributions · Dépôt 20/02/2026

Taco Bell continued to differentiate itself as a true category of one, delivering 8% System Sales Growth(1), 7% Same-Store Sales Growth and 10% Core Operating Profit Growth(2) — on the way to its 22nd consecutive quarter of positive sales growth.

Compensation discussion: 2025 Taco Bell operating achievements · Dépôt 03/04/2026

KFC led global unit development, opening 2,986 gross new units across 105 markets and reaching the milestone of its 30,000th international restaurant.

Compensation discussion: 2025 KFC restaurant development · Dépôt 03/04/2026

The brand delivered 6% System Sales Growth(1), 3% Same-Store Sales Growth and 10% Core Operating Profit Growth(2), demonstrating the strength and scale of its global system.

Compensation discussion: 2025 KFC operating results · Dépôt 03/04/2026

Yum! Brands, Inc. and its Subsidiaries (collectively referred to herein as the “Company,” “YUM,” “we,” “us” or “our”) franchise or operate a system of over 64,000 restaurants in 157 countries and territories.

Note 1: restaurant system and geographic reach at June 30, 2026 · Dépôt 05/08/2026

6 Competition The retail food industry, in which our Concepts compete, is made up of supermarkets, supercenters, warehouse stores, convenience stores, coffee shops, snack bars, delicatessens and restaurants (including those in the QSR segment), and is intensely competitive with respect to price and quality of food products, new product development, digital engagement, advertising levels and promotional initiatives, customer service reputation, restaurant location and attractiveness and maintenance of properties.

Business: competition across retail food alternatives · Dépôt 20/02/2026

We and/or our Concepts’ franchisees have taken, and may continue to take, certain actions as a result of inflationary increases in food and other operating costs noted above, including by increasing food prices beyond typical pricing patterns at certain of our Concepts’ restaurants, attempting to negotiate favorable pricing terms with our suppliers and/or shifting to suppliers with more favorable pricing where feasible, and utilizing forward contracts and commodity futures and options contracts where possible to hedge commodity prices.

Risk factors: actual inflation-related pricing and procurement actions · Dépôt 20/02/2026

However, because we and our Concepts’ franchisees provide competitively priced food, we have not always been able to pass through to our customers the full amount of cost increases experienced by us and our Concepts’ franchisees.

Risk factors: realized inability to pass through all cost increases · Dépôt 20/02/2026

% B/(W) % B/(W) 2025 2024 2025 2024 2023 Reported Ex FX Ex FX and 53rd Week in 2024 Reported Ex FX Ex FX and 53rd Week in 2024 System Sales $ 12,794 $ 13,108 $ 13,315 (2) (3) (2) (2) (1) (1) Same-Store Sales Growth (Decline) % (1) % (4) % 2 % N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Company sales $ 51 $ 8 $ 14 584 573 599 (45) (45) (47) Franchise and property revenues 602 622 622 (3) (3) (2) Even 1 Even Franchise contributions for advertising and other services 360 378 383 (5) (5) (4) (1) (1) (3) Total revenues $ 1,013 $ 1,008 $ 1,019 Even Even 1 (1) (1) (2) Company restaurant profit (loss) $ (1) $ — $ — NM NM NM NM NM NM Company restaurant margin % (1.4) % (0.6) % 0.1 % (0.8) ppts.

MD&A: Pizza Hut 2023–2025 operating results · Dépôt 20/02/2026

G&A expenses $ 56 $ 54 (5) (5) $ 116 $ 109 (6) (5) Franchise and property expenses 13 10 (29) (28) 31 21 (44) (42) Franchise advertising and other services expense 87 90 3 3 171 179 5 5 Operating Profit $ 70 $ 80 (12) (14) $ 135 $ 155 (13) (15) % Increase (Decrease) Unit Count 6/30/2026 6/30/2025 Franchise 19,855 19,709 1 Company-owned 130 59 120 Total 19,985 19,768 1 Franchise and property revenues The quarterly and year to date decreases in Franchise and property revenues, excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, were primarily driven by franchise same-store sales declines of 1% and the impact of our acquisition of restaurants from franchisees.

MD&A: Pizza Hut first-half 2026 operating results and revenue drivers · Dépôt 05/08/2026

As a result, 283 KFC restaurants and 254 Pizza Hut restaurants in Turkey were closed during the first quarter of 2025.

MD&A special items: realized Turkey restaurant closures · Dépôt 05/08/2026

There can be no assurance that the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property or the legal protections that may be available will be adequate or that our Concepts’ franchisees will maintain the quality of the goods and services offered under our brands’ trademarks or always act in accordance with guidelines we set for maintaining our brands’ intellectual property rights, including proprietary technology.

Risk factors: intellectual-property protection and franchise quality · Dépôt 20/02/2026

Consumer acceptance of our offerings is subject to change and some changes can occur rapidly.

Risk factors: changing consumer acceptance · Dépôt 20/02/2026

In 2025, the decrease in Company restaurant margin percentage, excluding the impacts of lapping the 53rd week, was driven by commodity inflation (primarily beef), higher labor and other restaurant operating costs, partially offset by higher margin percentages of the units included in the Southeast U.S.

MD&A: 2025 Company restaurant margin decline and inflation · Dépôt 20/02/2026

BRANDS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES (in millions, except per share data) Quarter ended Year to date Revenues 6/30/2026 6/30/2025 6/30/2026 6/30/2025 Company sales $ 837 $ 669 $ 1,622 $ 1,277 Franchise and property revenues 895 835 1,751 1,620 Franchise contributions for advertising and other services 438 428 856 823 Total revenues 2,169 1,933 4,228 3,720 Costs and Expenses, Net Company restaurant expenses 700 560 1,378 1,081 General and administrative expenses 324 302 646 604 Franchise and property expenses 41 39 85 73 Franchise advertising and other services expense 444 428 863 824 Refranchising (gain) loss (1) (11) (2) (16) Other (income) expense 6 (7) (39) (15) Total costs and expenses, net 1,514 1,311 2,930 2,550 Operating Profit 655 622 1,299 1,170 Investment (income) expense, net (6) — (6) (1) Other pension (income) expense — (1) — (1) Interest expense, net 128 123 257 243 Income Before Income Taxes 533 499 1,049 929 Income tax (benefit) provision (320) 125 (236) 301 Net Income $ 853 $ 374 $ 1,285 $ 628 Basic Earnings Per Common Share $ 3.10 $ 1.34 $ 4.65 $ 2.25 Diluted Earnings Per Common Share $ 3.08 $ 1.33 $ 4.62 $ 2.23 Dividends Declared Per Common Share $ 0.75 $ 0.71 $ 1.50 $ 1.42 See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Condensed consolidated statements of income: first-half 2026 results · Dépôt 05/08/2026

BRANDS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES (in millions) Year to date 6/30/2026 6/30/2025 Cash Flows – Operating Activities Net Income $ 1,285 $ 628 Depreciation and amortization 119 89 Refranchising (gain) loss (2) (16) Deferred income taxes (411) 12 Share-based compensation expense 35 37 Changes in accounts and notes receivable 16 34 Changes in prepaid expenses and other current assets (43) (47) Changes in accounts payable and other current liabilities (71) (42) Changes in income taxes payable (17) 21 Other, net 12 134 Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities 923 850 Cash Flows – Investing Activities Capital spending (175) (142) Acquisitions of franchise restaurants (5) (98) Proceeds from refranchising of restaurants 1 32 Maturities (purchases) of Short term investments, net — 91 Other, net 10 (13) Net Cash Used in Investing Activities (169) (130) Cash Flows – Financing Activities Repayments of long-term debt (14) (12) Revolving credit facility, three months or less, net 375 50 Repurchase shares of Common Stock (674) (338) Dividends paid on Common Stock (413) (395) Other, net (31) (46) Net Cash Used in Financing Activities (757) (741) Effect of Exchange Rates on Cash and Cash Equivalents (4) 31 Net (Decrease) Increase in Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents, including Balances Classified within Assets held for sale (7) 11 Less: Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents Classified within Assets held for sale (32) — Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents (39) 11 Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents - Beginning of Period 923 807 Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents - End of Period $ 884 $ 818 See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Condensed consolidated statements of cash flows: spending, distributions and financing · Dépôt 05/08/2026

Interest expense, net The quarterly and year to date increases in Interest expense, net were driven by higher outstanding borrowings.

MD&A: higher borrowings increased interest expense · Dépôt 05/08/2026

In May 2025, following Board and shareholder approval, we implemented a new LTIP, which authorized approximately 19,000,000 shares for issuance.

Compensation discussion: LTIP approved and implemented in May 2025 · Dépôt 03/04/2026

We chose Core Operating Profit Growth as our Company Selected Measure for evaluating Pay versus Performance because it is a key metric in our annual bonus (50% weighting) and annual PSU plans (50% weighting) in 2025.

Pay versus performance: actual 2025 bonus and PSU metric weights · Dépôt 03/04/2026

Shareholder feedback, including the 2025 voting results on NEO compensation, has influenced and reinforced a number of compensation design changes over the years, including: ▪ Added a 50% holding requirement to the stock ownership guidelines applicable to approximately 200 of our senior employees, including the NEOs.

Compensation discussion: adopted stock holding requirement · Dépôt 03/04/2026

GOVERNANCE HIGHLIGHTS Corporate Governance Shareholder Rights Compensation ▪ 11 Director nominees ▪ 10 Independent nominees ▪ Directors with experience, qualification and skills across a wide range of public and private sector companies ▪ Board access to senior management and independent advisors ▪ Independent non-executive chair ▪ Independent board committees ▪ Executive sessions of independent directors at every regular board and committee meeting ▪ Comprehensive risk oversight by board and its committees ▪ Annual board and committee self-evaluations ▪ All directors attended at least 75% of meetings held ▪ YUM’s Global Code of Conduct ▪ Political Contributions and U.S.

Governance highlights: independent leadership, committees and meeting attendance · Dépôt 03/04/2026

As a result of this review, the Board affirmatively determined that all of the directors are independent of the Company and its management under NYSE rules, with the exception of Chris Turner, who is not considered independent because of his employment by the Company.

Governance: board independence determination · Dépôt 03/04/2026

Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025 based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

Independent auditor report: effective internal control over financial reporting · Dépôt 20/02/2026

For the reasons described above, the Board urges shareholders to vote AGAINST this proposal as it remains confident that the Company’s current 25% ownership threshold appropriately balances the interests of all shareholders and reflects prevailing market practice among other large public companies.

Shareholder proposal: existing special-meeting ownership threshold · Dépôt 03/04/2026

Quarter ended Year to date % B/(W) % B/(W) 2026 2025 Reported 2026 2025 Reported System Sales $ 177 $ 166 7 $ 343 $ 321 7 Same-Store Sales Growth (Decline) % 3 (4) N/A 4 (3) N/A Total revenues $ 139 $ 134 4 $ 269 $ 262 3 Operating Profit (Loss) $ (4) $ 3 NM $ (11) $ 2 NM Unit Count 6/30/2026 6/30/2025 % Increase (Decrease) Franchise 84 76 11 Company-owned 304 303 — Total 388 379 2 Corporate & Unallocated Quarter ended Year to date (Expense) / Income 2026 2025 % B/(W) 2026 2025 % B/(W) Corporate and unallocated G&A $ (114) $ (97) (18) $ (225) $ (202) (11) Unallocated Company restaurant expenses (13) (4) (241) (25) (7) (279) Unallocated Franchise and property revenues — — NM — (1) NM Unallocated Refranchising gain (loss) 1 11 (88) 2 16 (85) Unallocated Other income (expense) (See Note 6) (6) 4 NM 39 10 NM Investment income (expense), net 6 — NM 6 1 NM Other pension income (expense) — 1 (93) — 1 (74) Interest expense, net (128) (123) (4) (257) (243) (6) Income tax benefit (provision) (See Note 8) 320 (125) 356 236 (301) 178 Effective tax rate (See Note 8) (60.1) % 25.1 % 85.1 ppts.

MD&A: Habit first-half 2026 sales growth and operating losses · Dépôt 05/08/2026

Pizza Hut Divestitures On June 16, 2026 we entered into definitive agreements to sell Pizza Hut in two separate transactions.

Liquidity and capital resources: June 16, 2026 Pizza Hut sale agreements · Dépôt 05/08/2026

The Pizza Hut sales are expected to close at significant book gains in the quarter ended September 30, 2026 resulting in the utilization of these deferred tax benefits.

MD&A: expected timing of Pizza Hut sales · Dépôt 05/08/2026

As of June 30, 2026, 97% of these restaurants were owned and operated by franchisees.

Note 1: franchise ownership at June 30, 2026 · Dépôt 05/08/2026

We have issued only stock options, SARs, RSUs and PSUs under the LTIP.

Share-based compensation note: award types actually issued · Dépôt 20/02/2026

Historique des publications

Historique des publications
VersionMis à jourAvantage concurrentiel
823/10/2026narrow
723/10/2026narrow
622/10/2026narrow
519/10/2026narrow
419/10/2026narrow
318/10/2026narrow
218/10/2026narrow
118/10/2026Indisponible

Sources

Méthode et limites de l’analyse · Comprendre ce concept