Zacks Research Expects Reduced Earnings for Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Yum! Brands in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, August 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $1.31 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.34. The consensus estimate for Yum! Brands’ current full-year earnings is $5.94 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum! Brands’ Q2 2026 earnings at $1.57 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.59 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.07 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.40 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.69 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $7.28 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.23.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $148.1020 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.73. Yum! Brands has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $146.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.93.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,106 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.84, for a total transaction of $1,043,445.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,108,808.12. The trade was a 6.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total value of $296,121.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $179,154.90. The trade was a 62.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,284 shares of company stock valued at $4,310,663 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth about $32,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division segments. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.