Yum Brands Q3 Revenue Misses Estimates Despite Strong KFC and Taco Bell Sales, Pizza Hut Underperforms

Pizza Hut loses market share amidst stiff competition while digital sales soar past $7 billion for Yum Brands, despite Q3 revenue still falling short of anticipated $1.774 billion.

Yum Brands reported Q3 sales growth of 4% year on year, reaching $1.708 billion, but this fell short of the anticipated $1.774 billion. Its digital sales, however, exceeded $7 billion.
Same-store sales for KFC and Taco Bell showed strong growth at 6% and 8% respectively, while Pizza Hut only grew 1%. Pizza Hut has been losing market share to competitors like Papa John's and Papa Murphy's.
Company sales for YUM increased 6% year on year to $510 million, and franchise and property revenues rose 5% to $796 million. The company managed to add 1,130 new units during the third quarter.
Operating margin for the quarter was 35.9%, and operating income climbed 12% to $613 million. Year-to-date operating cash flow stood at $1.15 billion, compared with $975 million the previous year.
Despite the overall revenue miss, Yum's adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.44 beat the consensus estimate of $1.28.