Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands’ three main brands were originally acquired separately by PepsiCo: Pizza HutPizza HutPizza Hut is a pizza restaurant chain founded in 1958 by brothers Dan Carney and Frank Carney in Wichita, Kansas, known for pizzas such as the Original Pan and Original Stuffed Crust; at the end of 2025 it had nearly 20,000 restaurants in 108 countries and territories. PepsiCo acquired it in 1977, and in 1997 it went with PepsiCo’s restaurant spin-off into the company that became Yum! Brands. In 2026 Yum! Brands sold it in two transactions for $2.7 billion in the aggregate: the Mainland China business to Yum China and the rest to the private equity firm LongRange Capital.Open the full entry in 1977, when its system had nearly 3,200 units; Taco Bell in 1978, when it had about 1,000 units; and KFC in 1986, when it had nearly 6,600 restaurants in 55 countries.⁠[1][1][1]

In January 1997, PepsiCo announced its decision to spin off its restaurant businesses to shareholders as an independent public company. The company was incorporated in North Carolina in 1997; the spin-off took effect on October 6, 1997, when PepsiCo distributed all of the company’s common stock to its shareholders, and the shares began regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “YUM” on October 7, having traded on a when-issued basis from September 17. The company was then named TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc.⁠[2][3][2][2][2]

David C. Novak served as the company’s chairman, chief executive officer, and president from January 2001. Before the spin-off he had been group president and chief executive officer of KFC and Pizza Hut, and from October 1997 he was Tricon’s vice chairman and president.⁠[4][1][1]

On May 7, 2002, the company completed its acquisition of Yorkshire Global Restaurants, Inc., the parent company and operator of Long John Silver’s and A&W All-American Food Restaurants; on May 16, following shareholder approval, it changed its name from TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc. to YUM! Brands, Inc.⁠[2][2]

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the company sold the Long John Silver’s and A&W brands to key franchise leaders and strategic investors in separate transactions, recognizing $86 million of pre-tax losses and other costs and $104 million of related tax benefits; the two brands contributed about 5% of the company’s system sales in 2011. After the sales, the company had about 37,000 restaurants in more than 120 countries and territories under the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands.⁠[4][4][4][4]

On February 1, 2012, the company acquired a controlling interest in Little Sheep Group Limited, a casual dining concept headquartered in Inner Mongolia, China; in 2012, the company’s China Division recorded revenues of about $6.9 billion and operating profit of about $1 billion.⁠[5][5]

Greg Creed served as the company’s chief executive officer from January 2015; he had previously been chief executive officer of the Taco Bell Division (2014) and of Taco Bell U.S. (2011 to 2013).⁠[6]

On October 31, 2016, the company spun off its China business as an independent public company, Yum China Holdings, Inc.; shareholders of record as of October 19 received one share of Yum China common stock for each company share they held, in a distribution structured to be tax-free for U.S. shareholders. Following the spin-off, Yum China became, under a master license agreement, the exclusive licensee of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell in mainland China and the company’s largest franchisee, paying the company a continuing fee of 3% on its system sales in mainland China.⁠[6][6][6][3]

The same month, the company announced a transformation plan aiming for at least 98% of restaurants to be franchised by the end of 2018 and for significant reductions in annual capital expenditures and general and administrative costs by the end of 2019.⁠[6][6]

In December 2018, the company formed a strategic alliance with Telepizza Group S.A., which became the master franchisee of Pizza Hut in Latin America (excluding Brazil) and parts of Europe; the same month, it completed the acquisition of QuikOrder, LLC.⁠[7][7]

David Gibbs served as chief executive officer from January 2020; from May 2016 he had held positions including president and chief financial officer and president and chief operating officer.⁠[7][7]

On March 18, 2020, the company acquired the fast-casual burger chain The Habit Restaurants, Inc. for total cash consideration of $408 million, net of cash acquired. The first Habit Burger & Grill restaurant opened in 1969 in Santa Barbara, California, and the chain is built around burgers and sandwiches chargrilled over an open flame.⁠[7][3][3]

On August 22, 2025, David Gibbs submitted his resignation as a director and Christopher Turner was appointed a director, both effective October 1, 2025; Turner has been chief executive officer since October 2025. Turner had been the company’s chief financial officer since August 2019 and also its chief franchise officer since November 2024, and previously worked at PepsiCo. The company also appointed Ranjith Roy chief financial officer, effective October 1, 2025.⁠[8][8][8][3][3][9]

On November 4, 2025, the company announced a formal review of strategic options for the Pizza Hut brand and said it expected to complete the acquisition of 128 Taco Bell restaurants in the southeastern United States in the fourth quarter.⁠[10][11]

As of December 31, 2025, the company had 63,285 restaurants in 155 countries and territories, with system sales of $68.295 billion: KFC with 33,897 units ($36.434 billion in system sales), Taco Bell with 9,030 ($18.361 billion), Pizza Hut with 19,974 ($12.794 billion), and Habit Burger & Grill with 384 ($706 million); 97% were franchised. Total revenues for fiscal 2025 were $8.214 billion, net income was $1.559 billion, and diluted earnings per share were $5.55. Digital sales across system restaurants approached $40 billion, about 60% of system sales, and the company introduced its Byte by Yum! technology platform in 2025.⁠[3][3][3][3][3]

The company has about 1,500 franchisees; of its more than 61,000 franchised units, about 40% operate under master franchise programs, including more than 17,000 in mainland China. In 2025, the company concentrated its U.S. brand headquarters in Plano, Texas, and Irvine, California, moved the KFC U.S. corporate office into the KFC Global headquarters in Plano, and required most U.S.-based remote employees to relocate to an appropriate headquarters office, recording charges of about $27 million; the corporate headquarters remains in Louisville, Kentucky.⁠[3][3][3][3][3]

On June 16, 2026, concluding the strategic review begun in November 2025, the company announced definitive agreements with two buyers to sell Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion in the aggregate: Pizza Hut outside mainland China would be sold for about $1.5 billion to the private equity firm LongRange Capital, with the opportunity for the company to receive a $75 million earn-out by 2030, and Pizza Hut in mainland China would be sold to Yum China for about $1.2 billion. The company expected about $2.3 billion of net proceeds after taxes from the two transactions (excluding the earn-out), and the board approved an incremental $4 billion share repurchase authorization; the two companies also agreed to share value as agreed should KFC China’s future system sales growth accelerate, and to work together on long-term growth plans for Taco Bell in mainland China.⁠[12][12][12][12][12][12][12][12][12]

In the second quarter of 2026, the company’s worldwide system sales grew 5% excluding foreign currency translation and unit count grew 5%, with 1,053 gross new units in the quarter; excluding Pizza Hut, system sales grew 7%, and digital system sales approached $9 billion with a digital mix above 60%; Taco Bell same-store sales grew 7%.⁠[13][13][13][13]

On August 7, 2026, the company completed the sale of the rights to the Pizza Hut business in mainland China to Yum China for $1.2 billion in cash; Yum China had previously been the exclusive licensee of the business. The same day, the two sides amended and restated their master license agreement to remove references to Pizza Hut and, for KFC and Taco Bell, to give Yum China the opportunity to earn incentives over the next 12 years based on KFC system sales growth targets, with Yum China guaranteeing its subsidiary’s obligations.⁠[14][14][14][14][14]

On August 20, 2026, the board appointed Steve Bratspies as a director, effective August 26.⁠[15]

On September 1, 2026, the company completed the sale of its global Pizza Hut business outside mainland China to Toppings TopCo, LLC for $1.488 billion in cash (subject to adjustments) and announced the completion of the sale of that business to LongRange Capital; with that, the two transactions selling Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion in the aggregate were complete, and Pizza Hut chief executive officer Aaron Powell left the company the same day. Goldman SachsGoldman SachsGoldman Sachs is an American financial services group headquartered in New York whose businesses include investment banking, securities trading, asset management, and wealth management. It traces its origins to the commercial paper business Marcus Goldman founded in 1869; it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1999 under the ticker GS and became a bank holding company in 2008. David Solomon serves as chairman and chief executive officer.Open the full entry and Barclays served as the company’s financial advisers.⁠[16][16][17][17][16][17]

The company does not directly own or operate restaurants itself but operates or franchises them through subsidiaries; its franchisees range from individuals owning a single restaurant to large publicly traded companies, and it grows through both store-level and master franchise programs.⁠[4][3][3]

Its KFC brand was founded in Corbin, Kentucky, by Harland D. Sanders, who signed up the first franchisee in 1952; the first Taco Bell restaurant was opened by Glen Bell in Downey, California, in 1962.⁠[3][3][3]

Yum! Brands: Official website: https://www.yum.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[3]

X: Public account: https://x.com/yumbrands (opens in a new window)⁠[18]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yum-brands/ (opens in a new window)⁠[18]