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Access earnings results, analyst expectations, report, slides, earnings call, and transcript.
The earnings call presents a generally positive outlook with strong digital sales growth, an optimistic guidance for operating profit, and a promising NVIDIA partnership. Despite competitive pressures and regulatory challenges, Yum! Brands shows resilience with strategic initiatives and a robust share repurchase plan. The Q&A highlights confidence in KFC's trends and Taco Bell's performance, although some uncertainty remains. The positive aspects outweigh the negatives, suggesting a likely stock price increase in the next two weeks.
EPS Reported EPS is $1.30, up from $1.29 year-over-year.
Core Operating Profit Core operating profit was $586 million, up 8% year-over-year, driven by strong performance from Taco Bell and KFC.
System Sales System sales grew 5%, driven by 3% same-store sales growth and 3% unit growth.
G&A Expenses Ex special G&A expenses were $274 million, up 3% year-over-year.
Operating Profit (Taco Bell) Taco Bell delivered a 16% increase in operating profit, driven by double-digit system sales growth.
Operating Profit (KFC) KFC grew operating profit by 9%, driven by 5% system sales growth and lower G&A.
Operating Profit (Pizza Hut) Pizza Hut's operating profit growth was negatively impacted by approximately $6 million due to expenses related to transitioning stores.
Digital Sales Growth Digital sales increased by 12% year-over-year.
Net Capital Expenditures Net capital expenditures totaled $56 million.
Share Repurchase Approximately 1.56 million shares were repurchased for a total of $228 million.
Net Leverage Ratio Net leverage ratio ended the quarter at 3.9x.
Interest Rate Savings Expected $10 million in interest rate savings due to a new interest rate hedge.
Unit Development 751 new stores opened in Q1, in line with last year.
Store Level Margin (Taco Bell) Taco Bell's full year margins are expected to be between 24% to 25%.
Digital Mix (Taco Bell) Digital mix reached 42%, with sales growing 37% year-over-year.
Digital Mix (Habit) Habit expanded digital mix by 10 points, driven by kiosk sales increasing to 17% of mix.
Operating Profit (Habit) Habit's restaurant level margin performance improved by 310 basis points year-over-year.
Taco Bell U.S. Same-Store Sales Growth: Taco Bell U.S. delivered a staggering 9% increase in same-store sales, reflecting significant expansion in consumer penetration and digital momentum.
Live Mas Cafe Launch: Taco Bell launched its first Live Mas Cafe, a specialty beverage concept, which has experienced a 40% sales lift.
Quench by KFC Pilot: KFC piloted Quench in 38 UK restaurants, featuring 10 handcrafted drinks, with promising early results.
Saucy Concept Performance: The new concept Saucy is exceeding expectations, with sales more than double the U.S. system average.
KFC International Growth: KFC International opened 554 new locations across 50+ countries, outpacing its first quarter development plan.
Taco Bell International Expansion: Taco Bell is on track to deliver 100 international net new units this year, with growth strongest in the UK, Spain, and India.
Core Operating Profit Growth: Yum! Brands reported an 8% increase in core operating profit, driven by Taco Bell and KFC.
Digital Sales Growth: Digital sales increased by 12% year-over-year, with Taco Bell's digital mix reaching 42%.
Operational Efficiency: Yum! Brands is unlocking efficiency through a resource optimization program, contributing to lower G&A.
Leadership Transition: CEO David Gibbs announced his intention to retire next year, ensuring a smooth leadership transition.
Partnership with NVIDIA: Yum! Brands announced a partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate AI technology development across its system.
Competitive Pressures: Pizza Hut U.S. faced an intense competitive environment, impacting its same-store sales performance. The brand is focusing on distinctive offerings and promotions to regain market share.
Regulatory Issues: The company mentioned potential regulatory challenges related to transitioning stores from franchise entities to new ownership, which negatively impacted operating profit.
Supply Chain Challenges: While Yum! Brands has minimal supply chain related tariff risk, they acknowledged the need to partner with suppliers and franchisees to manage limited items where there is potential impact.
Economic Factors: The company anticipates a complex year ahead due to economic uncertainty and geopolitical challenges, which could affect performance.
Leadership Transition: The planned retirement of CEO David Gibbs may pose risks related to leadership continuity and strategic direction during the transition period.
Taco Bell U.S. Growth: Taco Bell U.S. delivered a 9% increase in same-store sales, with expectations to generate over $225,000 in additional per store sales by 2030 through expanded digital channels and loyalty membership.
KFC International Growth: KFC International achieved low single-digit traffic growth and opened 554 new locations across 50+ countries, exceeding its first quarter development plan.
Live Mas Cafe Expansion: Taco Bell's Live Mas Cafe concept is experiencing a 40% sales lift, with plans for rapid expansion.
Quench by KFC: KFC's Quench initiative is expanding to additional markets after promising early results in the UK and Australia.
Saucy Concept: KFC's new concept, Saucy, is exceeding expectations with plans for phased expansion to at least 20 stores.
AI Partnership with NVIDIA: Yum! Brands announced a partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate AI technology development across its operations.
2025 Core Operating Profit Growth: Yum! Brands expects to deliver 8% core operating profit growth in 2025, excluding the benefit of the 53rd week in 2024.
Taco Bell U.S. Margins: Taco Bell U.S. full year margins are expected to be between 24% to 25%.
Q2 Profit Growth: Lower profit growth is expected in Q2 due to one-time expenses, with higher growth anticipated in the second half of the year.
FX Impact: A $10 million tailwind to GAAP operating profit is expected for the remainder of the year due to recent movements in the U.S. dollar.
Share Repurchase: During the quarter, Yum! Brands repurchased approximately 1.56 million shares for a total of $228 million.
The earnings call summary reveals strong financial metrics, including a 15% YoY EPS increase and record-high digital sales. KFC's margin improvement and Taco Bell's growth initiatives are promising. The strategic review of Pizza Hut and the Taco Bell franchise acquisition indicate a focus on long-term growth. The Q&A section highlights positive sentiment around Taco Bell's performance and KFC's turnaround efforts. Despite some management vagueness, the overall sentiment is positive, suggesting a stock price increase of 2% to 8% over the next two weeks.
The earnings call highlights strong financial performance and strategic initiatives. Despite a slight margin decline, robust digital sales growth and promising new concepts like Live Mas Cafe and Byte by Yum! suggest positive future prospects. The management's confidence in achieving 8% profit growth, coupled with increased shareholder returns, further bolsters sentiment. However, some uncertainties remain, such as the precise impact of tech investments. Overall, the positive elements outweigh the negatives, leading to a positive outlook for the stock price.
The earnings call presents a generally positive outlook with strong digital sales growth, an optimistic guidance for operating profit, and a promising NVIDIA partnership. Despite competitive pressures and regulatory challenges, Yum! Brands shows resilience with strategic initiatives and a robust share repurchase plan. The Q&A highlights confidence in KFC's trends and Taco Bell's performance, although some uncertainty remains. The positive aspects outweigh the negatives, suggesting a likely stock price increase in the next two weeks.
The earnings call highlights strong digital sales growth, robust performance from Taco Bell and KFC, and a promising NVIDIA partnership. Despite competitive pressures and leadership transition risks, the optimistic guidance for H2 profit growth and share repurchase plan are positive indicators. The Q&A reassures confidence in KFC's trends and development plans. Given these factors and the lack of market cap data, a positive sentiment is warranted, likely leading to a 2%-8% stock price increase over the next two weeks.
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