Yum Brands, the parent company of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, reported disappointing quarterly earnings and revenue results that fell short of analyst expectations. This underperformance contributed to a global trend of underwhelming results in the restaurant industry, following similar reports from Starbucks and McDonald’s. Yum Brands’ stock fell more than 1% in premarket trading. In summary of the results compared to Wall Street estimates, Yum Brands reported earnings per share of $1.26 adjusted versus the expected $1.40, and revenue of $2.04 billion versus the anticipated $2.11 billion. Excluding items, the restaurant giant earned $1.26 per share. The company’s net sales also rose by 1% to $2.04 billion, with global same-store sales increasing 1% as well.
Pizza Hut experienced a decline in same-store sales of 2%, well short of the expected 0.6% growth, with the U.S. same-store sales dropping by 4% and international same-store sales remaining flat. KFC’s same-store sales increased by 2%, falling short of estimated growth of 4.7%, and Taco Bell, typically a successful brand for Yum, reported same-store sales growth of 3%, below StreetAccount estimates of 3.8%. Meanwhile, for 2024, Yum anticipates reaching significant milestones for its global presence, with plans to surpass 60,000 locations, including over 30,000 KFC restaurants and over 20,000 Pizza Hut locations, according to CEO David Gibbs. This underperformance reflects broader challenges faced by the restaurant industry and will require Yum Brands to enact strategies to address these issues moving forward.