Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) announced on Tuesday that it has begun a formal strategic review of its Pizza Hut division, even as the company reported third-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations.
The global restaurant operator — which owns KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger Grill — posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.58, exceeding the $1.48 analyst consensus, while revenue came in at $1.98 billion, slightly above forecasts of $1.97 billion.
Shares of Yum! rose 1% in early trading after the news.
Yum! said it has retained Goldman Sachs and Barclays as financial advisers to explore options for Pizza Hut, which continues to lag its peers. The brand saw systemwide sales decline 1% and same-store sales fall 1% during the quarter.
“Pizza Hut’s performance indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realize its full value, which may be better executed outside of Yum! Brands,” said Chris Turner, Chief Executive Officer of Yum! Brands, who recently took over the role.
Meanwhile, the company’s other banners delivered stronger results. Taco Bell led with 9% system sales growth and 7% same-store sales growth, while KFC posted 6% system sales growth and a 3% increase in same-store sales. Overall, global system sales rose 5% excluding currency fluctuations, and same-store sales advanced 3%.
“Going forward, my three priorities for driving growth will be staying relevant with the next generation of consumers, leveraging our global scale to strengthen franchisees’ store-level economics, and expanding Byte across more restaurants worldwide,” Turner added.
Yum! opened 1,131 new restaurants during the quarter, including 760 new KFC locations across 60 countries. The company’s total restaurant count increased 3% year over year, with KFC showing particularly strong 6% growth.
Digital sales reached a record $10 billion, accounting for roughly 60% of total system sales. The company also said it expects to complete the acquisition of 128 Taco Bell restaurants across the Southeastern United States during the fourth quarter of 2025.