Latest news with #Yum!Brands
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MCD vs. YUM: Which Restaurant Stock is Better Positioned Now?
McDonald's Corporation MCD and Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM are two global powerhouses in the quick-service restaurant industry. Both companies operate extensive international networks and primarily use a franchised business model. In recent years, both McDonald's and Yum! Brands have prioritized digital innovation and global expansion as key strategies to drive growth and enhance customer broader restaurant industry continues to gain from higher menu pricing, average check growth and aggressive expansion. Both companies are also seeing positive momentum from strategic partnerships with third-party delivery services and ongoing digital said, there are a few challenges that affect the companies. Elevated labor costs and persistent food inflation are squeezing margins. Additionally, inflation-driven menu price hikes are beginning to impact customer traffic in certain the current mix of industry tailwinds and headwinds, which stock, McDonald's or Yum! Brands, offers the better value for investors today? Let us take a closer look to find out. The company's strong record of innovation, leadership and adaptability continues to position it for success, even amid challenging market conditions. McDonald's is the world's largest chain of fast-food restaurants, with a presence in more than 100 countries. Its offerings have reached the billion-dollar brand status through sustained product innovation and geographic company is also focusing on expansion efforts. McDonald's plans to open 2,200 restaurants globally in 2025. McDonald's expects to open 600 restaurants in the United States and international operated markets. MCD also plans to open more than 1,600 restaurants in the International Developmental Licensed segment, including 1,000 in China. It aims to open 50,000 restaurants by is focused on menu innovation to drive growth, emphasizing its core billion-dollar brands and expanding affordable offerings. In 2025, it launched the McValue platform in the United States, and introduced everyday affordable price menus and value bundles in key international markets, including Canada. The company also debuted McCrispy Chicken Strips nationwide and is testing new beverages inspired by CosMc's. With McCrispy now in 70 markets and a new chicken item planned for 2026, McDonald's continues to strengthen its global chicken portfolio and value-driven menu since the launch of the loyalty program in the United States, MCD has been able to transform its offerings across drive-thru, takeaway, delivery, curbside pick-up and dine-in. The company has already introduced a loyalty program in more than 60 markets, including the United States, Germany, Canada, the U.K., Australia and increased digital adoption, the company is optimistic about its loyalty members' growth trend. Since the launch of its loyalty program, the total number of 90-day active users has reached more than 170 million. Furthermore, in 2024, the system-wide sales to loyalty members were about $30 billion. It anticipates reaching 90-day active users to 250 million with $45 billion in annual loyalty system-wide sales by the end of 2027. YUM! Brands is gaining traction with its next-generation growth initiatives aimed at capturing evolving consumer preferences. YUM's 'easy operations' pillar is focused on streamlining restaurant operations and empowering team members. In the first quarter 2025, the company extended its Byte Restaurant Coach tool to an additional 5,000 stores. This digital platform supports consistent and scalable performance management through routine tools and training. Meanwhile, Taco Bell U.S. onboarded 1,500 more restaurants to the Byte Back of House platform, raising the total to 3,000 stores. This progress marks a step forward in developing a fully connected kitchen ecosystem aimed at enhancing efficiency and enabling data-driven operational decisions. YUM plans for full system-wide adoption in Brands reported steady progress in global development in the first quarter, with 751 store openings across 68 countries. KFC led the development effort, opening 528 units — the second-highest first-quarter total in the brand's history — driven by strong performance in key markets such as China, India, Japan and Thailand. With a global average payback period of less than five years, and even more attractive returns in China, Thailand and the Middle East, KFC continues to be a cornerstone of YUM's expansion Pizza Hut added 198 stores in 34 markets, and Taco Bell posted 24 gross openings. Though Taco Bell's net unit growth was affected by strategic closures in Malaysia and China's Tier 2 cities, the brand remains on track to achieve 100 net international openings in 2025, with momentum strongest in the U.K., Spain and company is also gaining from robust comps growth. In the first quarter of 2025, worldwide comps at Yum! Brands increased 3% year over year compared with a 1% rise in the previous quarter. The improvement was fueled by robust growth across multiple international markets, including a 13% comp increase in Korea, 8% in Africa and 6% in Canada, aided by localized innovation and value-led aims to drive comp growth in 2025 through deeper market penetration and an expanded range of offerings like tenders, nuggets, twisters and sandwiches. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for McDonald's 2025 sales and EPS implies year-over-year growth of 1.6% and 4.4%, respectively. Earnings estimates for 2025 have witnessed upward revisions of 0.2% in the past 30 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Yum! Brands' 2025 sales implies a year-over-year increase of 6.8% and the same for EPS indicates a gain of 9.7%. Earnings estimates for 2025 have witnessed upward revisions of 0.3% in the past 30 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The MCD stock has gained 7.6% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry and the S&P 500's 0.5% growth and 0.3% decline, respectively. Conversely, YUM shares have risen 7.4% in the same time frame. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research MCD is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 24.69X, above its median of 23.72X over the last year. YUM's forward earnings multiple is 22.99X, slightly below its median of 22.68X over the same time frame. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Yum! Brands appears slightly ahead of McDonald's at the moment due to its stronger expected earnings and sales growth trajectory, driven by aggressive global expansion, faster same-store sales growth across key international markets, and deeper digital integration in operations. While McDonald's remains a solid performer with robust loyalty engagement and expansion plans, YUM's more dynamic international development, broader innovation pipeline and higher earnings momentum suggest that it is currently executing more effectively on growth opportunities. Both YUM and MCD currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report McDonald's Corporation (MCD) : Free Stock Analysis Report Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen. Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) Declares Quarterly Dividend Following Solid Q1 2025 Performance
Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has confirmed it will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share in early June, reflecting its ongoing efforts to boost shareholder value. Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) is an American multinational fast-food company. The company runs or franchises a network of nearly 61,000 restaurants across over 155 countries and territories along with its subsidiaries. These outlets operate under its well-known brands—KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and The Habit Burger Grill. Among them, KFC leads the global chicken segment, Taco Bell dominates the Mexican-inspired food category, and Pizza Hut is a major player in the pizza market. The stock has surged by nearly 11% since the start of 2025, outperforming the broader market. On May 15, Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, which was in line with its previous dividend. In February, the company achieved its eighth consecutive annual dividend hike. It continued to show a strong focus on delivering value to its shareholders, increasing its annual dividend from $1.44 in 2018 to $2.68 by 2024. As of May 16, the stock has a dividend yield of 1.92%. YUM will be trading ex-dividend on May 27. In addition to its strong dividend policy, Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) also showed solid earnings in the first quarter of 2025. The company reported revenue of $1.8 billion, which showed an 11.8% growth from the same period last year. Its core operating profit rose by 8%, highlighting the robustness and adaptability of the business model. The company's two main growth drivers played a key role, with Taco Bell U.S. delivering an impressive 9% increase in same-store sales, while KFC International not only boosted same-store sales but also achieved 7% year-over-year growth in restaurant units. While we acknowledge the potential of YUM to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than YUM and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: and Disclosure. None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
03-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Exelon Corporation CEO Calvin Butler goes one-on-one with Jim Cramer
Exelon Corporation CEO Calvin Butler goes one-on-one with Jim Cramer Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs, joins 'Mad Money' host Jim Cramer to talk its earnings, energy service area and energy and data center demand.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) Among the Best Fast Food Stocks to Buy Now?
We recently compiled a list of the 12 Best Fast Food Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) stands against the other fast food stocks. Fast food stocks are businesses that run quick-service restaurants. These stocks can be a smart option to invest in the restaurant industry, which tends to perform well even during economic downturns due to its low costs and convenience. For example, the early COVID-19 pandemic was not favorable for the restaurant business overall, but fast-food chains that were able to offer curbside pickup, delivery, and drive-thru services performed better than their competitors that relied on dine-in. A challenging economic situation presents fewer risks because many fast-food restaurants prioritize providing great value. As per a research report, the global fast food market has expanded gradually in recent years. It will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.9%, from $645.2 billion in 2024 to $663.92 billion in 2025. Changes in customer choices and lifestyles, rapid urbanization, globalization, greater demand for convenience meals, and an increase in the working population have all contributed to historic expansion. The fast-food market's largest region in 2024 was North America. Asia-Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest-growing region over the projection period. Automation is changing the fast-food service business in the United States. Robotic systems and artificial intelligence tools are now reducing production times and increasing efficiency. Complex beverage preparation time has been reduced from 87 to just 36 seconds due to a new drink-making system. In the meantime, a dual-sided grill has sped up cooking by 70% in high-volume locations, and an avocado-processing robot reduces prep time by 50%. According to a National Restaurant Association research released in February 2023, 58% of restaurant operators anticipated that 2023 would see a rise in the usage of technology and automation to cope with labor shortages. In a May 2023 poll, HungerRush found that 36 percent of 1,000 Americans stated they believed that large restaurant chains lacked enough employees to process orders, make food, and deliver food. Chief information officer Aaron Nilsson of Jet's Pizza, a franchise with locations in Michigan, introduced a phone bot driven by artificial intelligence to take orders for pizza. He stated: 'Now most consumers expect their local pizza place and their favorite coffee house to remember their last order, know what credit card they want to use, and make it quick and easy for them to complete an order. Society has moved on and automation is expected – even from the small-time operator.' According to a 2024 LendingTree survey, 78% of Americans now consider fast food a luxury, with prices rising by more than 60% since 2014. Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) have been compelled by this change to reconsider what value is. Companies are prioritizing quality, convenience, and technology over price competition to defend higher prices. According to Savneet Singh, CEO of a significant restaurant technology business, the value today isn't just about price; it's about the entire experience. Moreover, technology is being used by businesses to improve this perceived value. AI-powered kiosks, drive-thru technology, and mobile ordering shorten wait times and customize service, while kitchen automation increases reliability. These days, loyalty programs use data analytics to provide hyper-personalized rewards, which boosts consumer engagement and encourages repeat visits. However, affordability is still crucial. The expense of fast food has caused 62% of consumers to cut back on their purchases, which has led several businesses to bring back $5 meal offers, as per the LendingTree study. A combination of price, quality, convenience, and personalization is the new QSR value equation. QSRs have the potential to redefine luxury as intelligent, easily accessible service by utilizing technology and loyalty. A chef in a kitchen preparing a fast food meal of chicken, pizza and burgers. For this article, we sifted through the online rankings to form an initial list of the 20 Fast Food Stocks. From the resultant dataset, we chose 12 stocks with the highest number of hedge fund investors, using Insider Monkey's database of 1,009 hedge funds in Q4 2024 to gauge hedge fund sentiment for stocks. We have used the stock's revenue growth year-over-year as a tie-breaker in case two or more stocks have the same number of hedge funds invested. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here). Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 33 Revenue growth (YOY): 6.69% Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) is a US-based restaurant operator with four brands in its portfolio: Habit Burger & Grill (almost 400 units), Pizza Hut (20,225 units), Taco Bell (8,757 units), and KFC (31,981 global units at year-end 2024). It is the second-largest restaurant company in the world, behind McDonald's ($131 billion), ahead of Restaurant Brands International ($44 billion) and Starbucks ($30 billion), with more than $65 billion in 2024 systemwide sales. It is ranked eighth on our list of the Best Food Stocks. The ability of the biggest operators, like Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), to expedite crucial investments in e-commerce platforms, delivery integration, and technological solutions that satisfy the changing needs of the contemporary restaurant customer, despite the fact that the restaurant industry has undergone significant change in recent years, gives investors confidence. More than 50% of globally systemwide sales now come from digital channels, which analysts anticipate will continue to be a key component of its strategic playbook. Recent acquisitions show how much importance the company has placed on digital upgrades. Franchise unit economics are strengthened, and its appealing unit development flywheel is propelled by the company's efficient and cost-effective delivery of its digital tools to franchisees. Citi maintained a Neutral rating on Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) also raised the price target from $148 to $151. In a research note, the analyst informs investors that the shares have outperformed year-to-date and that this trend should continue through Q1 earnings, barring any significant negative developments in global comp growth or store openings. Overall, YUM ranks 8th on our list of the 12 Best Fast Food Stocks to Buy Now. While we acknowledge the potential of Fast Food companies, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than YUM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
CNN
01-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
McDonald's just had its worst quarter since Covid. It said customers are getting nervous
McDonald's sales dropped in the beginning of the year, marking the second consecutive quarter of declines as customers pull back their spending amid economic uncertainty. In the United States, its largest market, same-store sales dropped 3.6% — the chain's worst drop since 2020 during the height of the Covid pandemic when people were told to stay home. Net income for the first quarter was $1.87 billion, a decline from $1.93 billion compared to the same period a year ago. However, McDonald's notes that since last year had a Leap Day, or an extra day to make money, that slightly hurt its sales in 2025. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a release that consumers are 'grappling with uncertainty,' but that he remains optimistic in the company's 'ability to navigate even the toughest of market conditions and gain market share.' The chain's blunt assessment of economic environment mirrors that of other companies with Chipotle, Yum! Brands, Domino's Pizza and Starbucks all recently reporting meager earnings results as consumer sentiment sinks. The first quarter heralded the release of its revamped value menu, which was supposed to rev up sales for budget-conscious customers. However, a new meal promotion with 'A Minecraft Movie' (released by CNN's sister company Warner Bros. Pictures) was perhaps more successful in driving visits, with a third-party tracking service measuring measurable spikes to its restaurants. McDonald's will shift its focus next week to the release of new chicken strips, an item that its fans have been demanding to return since being pulled from menus a few years ago. The beloved chicken 'Snack Wrap' is also expected to make a return in the coming months, too. Shares of McDonald's (MCD) fell nearly 2% in early trading.
