Yum China Holdings

Yum China is the largest restaurant company in China. It runs the KFC and Pizza Hut brands there. It also runs smaller chains, such as Taco Bell and Little Sheep hot pot, and Lavazza coffee shops through a joint venture that it owns 65%. KFC is the largest business, with 14,307 of the 19,989 stores on September 30, 2026.

Pizza Hut had 4,740 stores. The company operates most stores itself: franchisees run about 18% of KFC stores and 13% of Pizza Hut stores. Yum! Brands spun off Yum China in October 2016.

Yum China pays Yum! Brands a license fee of 3% of net system sales for the KFC and Taco Bell brands in Mainland China. On August 7, 2026, it bought the Pizza Hut brand in Mainland China for $1.2 billion, so Pizza Hut pays no fee from that date. The shares have a primary listing in New York and, since October 24, 2022, also in Hong Kong.

The market prices Yum China low because investors doubt that Chinese consumers will spend more at restaurants. Same-store sales grew only 1% in 2025 and in Q2 2026, and they fell 3% in Q3 2026, although same-store transactions grew 3%. The average KFC ticket fell 5% in Q3 2026. Food delivery grew to about 54% of company sales during a subsidy war among Meituan, Alibaba and JD.com, and rider costs went up.

Investors also apply a country discount for US-China tension, although the Hong Kong primary listing protects against a forced US delisting. For the gap to close, same-store sales must return to growth and then grow clearly above 1% for several quarters while the restaurant margin holds. The Pizza Hut brand purchase gives a second path to profit growth: management expects about 2.8 points of extra Pizza Hut margin and a mid-single-digit percent gain in EPS in 2027. In Q3 2026, the Pizza Hut restaurant margin rose 1.9 points.

The company must also replace the bridge loan for that purchase with long-term debt and keep its capital returns. In the Q3 2026 report on November 3, 2026, same-store sales fell, but the restaurant margin rose to 17.8% from 17.3%. Full-year 2026 results, expected in early February 2027, show the store count against the target of more than 20,500 and the refinancing plan. If these tests pass, the gap can start to close over the next four to six quarters.

But part of the discount comes from China risk, which good results alone cannot remove.

1. Aug 7, 2026Passed

   Pizza Hut brand purchase in Mainland China closesClosing with the bridge loan in place and no change to capital returns passes; a failed closing fails.Outcome: Yum China completed the $1.2 billion purchase on August 7, 2026, with a renminbi bridge loan at about 2%.
2. Nov 3, 2026Failed

   Q3 2026 results: same-store sales and marginsPositive same-store sales and a restaurant margin at or above Q3 2025's 17.3% pass; negative same-store sales or a lower restaurant margin from delivery costs fails.Outcome: Same-store sales fell 3%, although the restaurant margin rose to 17.8% from 17.3%.
3. Feb 3, 2027 · est.Pending

   Full-year 2026 results: 20,500 stores and refinancing planAbout 20,500 stores at the end of 2026, a Pizza Hut margin gain near 2.8 points and a long-term plan for the bridge loan pass; a missed store target or a costly refinancing fails.
4. Aug 2027 · est.Pending

   Bridge loan final maturity (364 days after funding)Refinancing or repaying the about $1.2 billion bridge loan without a cut to buybacks or dividends passes; a cut to capital returns to repay it fails.

Every passed and failed checkpoint across all picks

• November 3, 2026Yum China reported Q3 2026 results. Total revenue grew 8% to $3.5 billion, and system sales grew 3% without currency effects. Same-store sales fell 3%, after strong delivery subsidies a year earlier and bad weather in August, but same-store transactions grew 3%. The restaurant margin rose to 17.8% from 17.3%, and diluted EPS grew 20% to $0.91. The company opened a record 692 net new stores, to 19,989, and raised its 2026 target to more than 20,500 stores. The board added $1 billion to the buyback authorization and declared a dividend of $0.29 per share.
• October 14, 2026Yum China said it will report Q3 2026 results on November 3, 2026, before the US market opens.
• August 20, 2026Yum China opened its 300th Pizza Hut Burger Bar, a format inside Pizza Hut stores. It targets 500 to 600 of them by the end of 2026.

Last earnings

November 3, 2026 (8-K on sec.gov)

Next earnings

Expected about February 3, 2027. The company has not confirmed the date.

• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Sep 30, 2026Filed November 5, 2026 · yumc-20260930
• 8-KEarnings release and Change of directors or officersFiled November 3, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 8-KInvestor disclosureFiled September 1, 2026 · yumc-20260901
• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Jun 30, 2026Filed August 10, 2026 · yumc-20260630
• 8-KNew material agreement and Acquisition or sale completedFiled August 7, 2026 · yumc-20260807
• 8-KNew material agreement and New debt or financial obligationFiled August 6, 2026 · yumc-20260731
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled July 30, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 8-KNew material agreementFiled June 16, 2026 · yumc-20260616
• 8-KInvestor disclosureFiled June 16, 2026 · yumc-20260616
• 8-KShareholder vote resultsFiled May 28, 2026 · yumc-20260528

Every filing on SEC EDGAR (CIK 1673358)

• Delivery was about 54% of company sales in Q3 2026, up from 51% a year earlier, after a subsidy war among China's delivery platforms. Rider costs went up. The regulator (SAMR) published draft rules on platform subsidies in June 2026. The high subsidies of 2025 made the Q3 2026 sales comparison hard.
• Same-store sales fell 3% in Q3 2026, and the average KFC ticket fell 5%, partly from smaller orders in new formats such as KCOFFEE and KPRO. If Chinese consumers continue to spend less, same-store sales can stay weak, and total sales then grow only from new stores.
• Yum China paid for the $1.2 billion Pizza Hut brand with an offshore bridge loan of about the same size. The loan matures 180 days after funding, with an extension to 364 days. The company must refinance or repay it by about August 2027, at the interest rates of that time.
• Yum China still pays Yum! Brands a license fee of 3% of net system sales to use the KFC and Taco Bell brands in Mainland China. It does not own the KFC brand, which is most of its sales.
• Yum China plans more than 20,500 stores by the end of 2026 and more than 30,000 by 2030, many of them in smaller cities. Fast growth can take sales from existing stores or put stores in markets that are too small for them.
• Yum China depends on Chinese regulation and market access. The Hong Kong primary listing since 2022 decreases the risk of a forced US delisting. But US-China tension about trade, data or capital markets can still affect the shares.

On September 30, 2026, Yum China had short-term borrowings of $1.55 billion, mostly the offshore bridge loan for the Pizza Hut brand, and no long-term borrowings. Its largest fixed obligations are leases, because it operates most of its restaurants in rented sites. Read more

Yield at the current rate

2.4% (current annual rate, at today’s price)

Dividend yield

1.8% (last 12 months, at today’s price of $49.04)

Paid per share

$0.87 in the last 12 months (3 payments)

Current annual rate

$1.16 ($0.29 × 4 a year)

Payout ratio

19% of the last fiscal year’s earnings (the year that ended December 31, 2025)

Latest ex-dividend date

August 27, 2026, $0.29 per share

Fewer payments or a raise. The last 12 months paid at least 25% less than the current annual rate. A payment may fall just outside the 12 months, or the company may have raised its dividend.

Dividends per share by year

From 2020 to 2025, the dividend grew by about 14.9% a year.

Source: company filings and market data, read on November 13, 2026. The ex-dividend date is the first day a buyer no longer gets the next payment.