Should I Buy YUMC? YUMC 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Yum China Holdings Inc (YUMC) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Buy

Latest Price

49.420

1 Day change

-2.16%

52 Week Range

53.990

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/26

Yum China Holdings Inc. (YUMC) is a good buy for a beginner investor with a long-term strategy and $50,000-$100,000 available for investment. Despite the pre-market dip, the stock is fundamentally undervalued by 35%, has positive hedge fund activity, and bullish technical indicators. The upcoming dividend meeting and earnings report could act as positive catalysts. The investor's long-term focus aligns with the company's potential for recovery and growth.

Technical Analysis

The technical indicators are bullish. The MACD is positive and expanding, moving averages are aligned bullishly (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200), and the RSI is neutral at 61.669. The stock is trading near its support level of 47.197, with resistance at 49.254.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

The low put-call ratios indicate bullish sentiment in the options market. Additionally, today's option volume is significantly higher than the 30-day average, suggesting increased interest in the stock.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

The stock is undervalued by 35% based on intrinsic value estimates.
Hedge funds are significantly increasing their positions, with a 481.61% increase in buying over the last quarter.
Analysts upgraded the stock to Positive, citing favorable channel checks.
Upcoming dividend declaration and earnings report on February 4, 2026, could act as catalysts.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Pre-market price dropped by 3.44%, which may indicate short-term bearish sentiment.
Financial performance in Q3 2025 showed a decline in net income (-5.05% YoY), EPS (-1.30% YoY), and gross margin (-1.86% YoY).

Financial Performance

In Q3 2025, Yum China's revenue increased by 4.40% YoY to $3.206 billion, but net income dropped by 5.05% YoY to $282 million. EPS declined by 1.30% YoY to 0.76, and gross margin decreased to 41.67%, down 1.86% YoY. While revenue growth is positive, profitability metrics showed slight declines.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

BWG Global upgraded Yum China to Positive from Mixed on January 16, 2026, citing positive channel checks. This reflects improving sentiment among analysts.

16 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast YUMC stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for YUMC is 56.44 USD with a low forecast of 53.06 USD and a high forecast of 61.58 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

15 Buy

1 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 50.510

Low

53.06

Averages

56.44

High

61.58

Current: 50.510

Low

53.06

Averages

56.44

High

61.58

BWG Global

Mixed -> Positive

upgrade

AI Analysis

2026-01-16

Reason

BWG Global

Price Target

AI Analysis

2026-01-16

upgrade

Mixed -> Positive

Reason

BWG Global upgraded its view of Yum China to Positive from Mixed, citing positive channel checks.

BofA

Buy

downgrade

2025-07-08

Reason

BofA

Price Target

2025-07-08

downgrade

Buy

Reason

BofA lowered the firm's price target on Yum China to $56.50 from $60.50 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. With shares having lagged the MSCI China by 16% since "Liberation Day," the firm believes negatives are already in the price and that recent delivery subsidies by online platforms could serve as a short-term catalyst, the analyst tells investors. Channel checks suggest 0%-1% same-store sales growth in Q2, but "more skewed to 1%," and suggest that June could be better than expected, the analyst added.

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YUMC Should I Buy

YUMC Should I Buy

Should You Buy Yum China Holdings Inc (YUMC) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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