Yum Brands earnings miss estimates as Pizza Hut, KFC sales disappoint

Yum
Brands
on
Wednesday
reported
quarterly earnings and
revenue
that
missed
analysts’
expectations
as
Pizza
Hut
and
KFC
struggled
to
attract
customers.

Shares
of
the
company
fell
more
than
4%
in
premarket
trading.

Here’s
what
the
company
reported
compared
with
what
Wall
Street
was
expecting,
based
on
a
survey
of
analysts
by
LSEG:

• Earnings per
  share:
  $1.15
  adjusted
  vs.
  $1.20
  expected
• Revenue:
  $1.6
  billion
  vs.
  $1.71
  billion
  expected

Yum
reported
first-quarter
net
income
of
$314
million,
or
$1.10
per
share,
up
from
$300
million,
or
$1.05
per
share,
a
year
earlier.

Excluding
investment
losses
and
other
items,
the
company
earned
$1.15
per
share.

Net
sales dropped 3%
to
$1.6
billion.
Yum’s
global
same-store
sales
also
fell
3%
in
the
quarter,
missing
StreetAccount
estimates
of
0.2%
same-store
sales
growth.

Across
Yum’s
three
largest
brands,
only
Taco
Bell
reported
same-store
sales
growth.
The
metric
rose
1%
during
the
quarter
at
the
Mexican-inspired
chain.
Taco
Bell’s
U.S.
locations
reported
same-store
sales
growth
of
2%,
while
its
international
business
posted
a
decline
of
2%.

KFC’s
same-store
sales
fell
2%
in
the
quarter.
The
bigger
decline
came
in
the
U.S.,
where
they
shrank
7%.
However,
the
chicken
chain’s
international
division
saw
same-store
sales
decrease
just
2%,
thanks
to
growth
in
China,
its
largest
market.
A
year
ago,
KFC’s
quarterly
same-store
sales
rose
9%.

Pizza
Hut
reported
same-store
sales
dropped
7%,
as
demand
lagged
both
in
its
home
market
and
internationally.
The
pizza
chain’s
U.S.
restaurants
reported
a
decrease
of
6%,
while
its
international
division
posted
an
8%
decline.
The
chain
faced
tough
comparisons
to
the
year-ago
period,
when
Pizza
Hut
reported
7%
same-store
sales
growth,
fueled
by
its
new
Melts.

The
company’s
digital
business
was
one
of
the
few
bright
spots
this
quarter.
Yum
said
its
digital
sales
accounted
for
more
than
50%
of
sales
for
the
first
time.

Yum’s
global
footprint
grew
6%
in
the
quarter,
thanks
to
808
new
restaurant
openings.