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Access earnings results, analyst expectations, report, slides, earnings call, and transcript.
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.
System Sales Growth 4%, driven by 3% unit growth and 2% same-store sales despite the tough consumer backdrop.
Digital Sales Growth 18%, pushing digital mix to a record 57%, up 2 points from last quarter. Growth attributed to expansion of digital channels and Byte deployments.
Total Restaurant Level Margins 16.3%, down roughly 150 basis points year-over-year due to unfavorable commodity lap at Taco Bell and KFC's higher mix of overall restaurant profit from newly acquired U.K. stores.
Ex Special G&A Expense $274 million, up $18 million or 7% year-over-year, due to lapping lower incentive comp from Q2 last year.
Core Operating Profit $646 million, increased 2% year-over-year.
Ex Special EPS $1.44, up 7% year-over-year.
Reported EPS $1.33.
Gross New Units Opened 871, translating to 386 net new units. KFC opened 566 units, Pizza Hut 254 units, and Taco Bell 50 units.
KFC International Same-Store Sales Growth 3%, driven by strong performance in key markets like South Africa, Spain, Canada, Japan, and the U.K.
Taco Bell U.S. Same-Store Sales Growth 4%, outpacing the limited service category in the U.S. by 4 percentage points.
Pizza Hut International Same-Store Sales Growth 2%, driven by the Middle East recovery, positive transaction growth in the U.K., and strong performance in South Asia.
Habit Burger System Sales Declined 1% year-over-year, reflecting continued softness in consumer demand and impacts from recent events in the L.A. area.
Digital Sales: Achieved a new milestone with digital mix reaching 57%, 7 percentage points higher year-over-year. KFC's digital sales grew 22%, with mix climbing to over 60%. Expansion of digital channels and AI-driven personalized advertising contributed to this growth.
Taco Bell Menu Expansion: Reintroduced crispy nuggets and launched Crispy Chicken Taco and Burrito. Chicken sales up over 50% in 2 years. Plans to make Crispy Chicken a permanent platform in 2026.
Live Mas Cafe: Expanded innovative beverage concept with curated drinks, targeting $5 billion in system sales by 2030. Test stores showed increased transactions.
Unit Growth: Yum! delivered 386 net new units, including 871 gross openings, driven by KFC International and Taco Bell U.S.
Taco Bell International Expansion: Opened 18 new international units in 9 countries, with plans to reach 100 international net new units this year.
Pizza Hut International Growth: Same-store sales grew 2%, driven by recovery in the Middle East, positive transactions in the U.K., and strong performance in South Asia.
AI and Technology: AI-driven marketing delivered 200 million communications, achieving up to 5x incrementality. Byte Connect platform launched to reduce costs for franchisees and improve order integration.
Sustainability: Reduced emissions by 25% since 2019 for company-owned restaurants and corporate offices. Achieved 94% cage-free egg sourcing in the U.S. and Western Europe.
Leadership Transition: David Gibbs to step down as CEO on October 1, 2025, with Chris Turner taking over. David will serve as an adviser until the end of 2026.
KFC U.S. Strategy: Introduced Kentucky Fried Comeback campaign to address value perception and consumer experience issues.
Taco Bell Beverage Strategy: Aiming to make beverages iconic, targeting $5 billion in sales by 2030 with innovative offerings like Refrescas and Live Mas Cafe.
KFC U.S. and parts of Europe underperformance: Challenges in these regions stem from gaps in value perception, inconsistent consumer experience, and innovation that has not fully resonated with consumers.
Pizza Hut U.S. transaction softness: Insufficient value message amid a competitive value landscape has resulted in transaction softness.
Habit Burger system sales decline: Year-over-year system sales trends declined 1%, reflecting continued softness in consumer demand and impacts from recent events in the L.A. area.
Inflation pressures on development: Inflation pressures across several key building products sourced from Mexico and Canada are expected to impact development costs.
G&A expense increase: G&A expenses are expected to increase due to one-off expenses related to an accelerated CEO transition and KFC's headquarter consolidation.
Margin impact from U.K. acquisitions: Higher mix of overall restaurant profit from newly acquired U.K. stores has negatively impacted year-over-year company margins.
Tariffs on building products: Potential tariffs on building products sourced from Mexico and Canada could increase costs, though exposure is limited due to most development occurring outside the U.S.
Revenue and Margin Projections: Yum! Brands expects to achieve 8% core operating profit growth for 2025, excluding the 53rd week. Taco Bell U.S. is projected to deliver 24%-25% restaurant-level margins. Development trends are encouraging, with plans to meet or exceed the total number of gross builds from last year, leading to 4% unit growth or 5% excluding the Turkey market exit.
Digital and AI Expansion: Digital sales grew 18% in Q2, with a record 57% digital mix. Yum! plans to expand AI-driven personalized advertising and operational tools, including Byte Connect and Byte Coach, to enhance consumer experiences and operational efficiency. AI tools have reduced innovation timelines significantly, and further expansion of AI solutions is planned for the next six months.
Taco Bell Growth Initiatives: Taco Bell plans to make Crispy Chicken a permanent platform in 2026 and expand its beverage lineup, targeting $5 billion in beverage system sales by 2030. The Live Mas Cafe concept will expand to 30 locations by year-end, focusing on Gen Z preferences for customizable drinks.
KFC and Pizza Hut Development: KFC plans to focus on underperforming regions like the U.S. and parts of Europe by introducing campaigns and tailored offerings. Pizza Hut aims to double down on mobile app acquisitions and expand Byte Commerce to additional markets by year-end.
Capital Expenditures and Shareholder Returns: Net capital expenditures for Q2 totaled $54 million. Yum! repurchased approximately 740,000 shares for $108 million in Q2, with year-to-date repurchases at $336 million. The company plans to maintain a net leverage ratio of approximately 4x over the medium term.
Dividend Program: The company continues to offer a competitive dividend as part of its capital priorities, focusing on maximizing shareholder value.
Share Repurchase Program: During the quarter, the company repurchased approximately 740,000 shares for a total of $108 million, bringing the year-to-date repurchases to $336 million. This reflects the company's commitment to returning excess capital to shareholders.
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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