TacticScaleWhat Yum! Brands Does & How It Makes Money (YUM)
Updated October 2026 · reflects Yum! Brands's latest reported financials
Global fast-food franchisor behind KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger. Yum!
How Yum! Brands makes money
Yum! earns money by franchising its restaurant brands to independent operators and by running some restaurants itself, where it takes in the food sales. It reports results in four brand divisions: KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill.
What Yum! Brands does
Yum! Brands, Inc. develops, operates and franchises quick-service restaurants in the United States, China and other countries. Its brands are KFC (chicken), Taco Bell (Mexican-style food), Pizza Hut (pizza) and The Habit Burger & Grill (made-to-order chargrilled burgers and sandwiches), and it reports results through one division per brand. It runs both traditional restaurants and non-traditional ones. The company was incorporated in 1997 as TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc., changed its name to Yum! Brands in May 2002, and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. It is one of the best-known franchisors in the consumer cyclical restaurant industry.
Products & services
- KFC
- Taco Bell
- Pizza Hut
- Habit Burger & Grill
What is Yum! Brands worth?
On an owner-earnings DCF, Yum! Brands's most-likely value is about $96 versus a recent price near $145 (34% above fair value). But TacticScale only calls a stock undervalued when the price sits below its conservative no-growth floor (~$49) with a margin of safety — so the honest verdict here is “Fairly priced — no edge.” Fair value earns its keep only at the extremes, not in the wide middle.
Price sits in the normal range — fair value isn't actionable here; it earns its keep only when price drops below the no-growth floor, or runs to roughly double the optimistic case.
⚠ High leverage — net debt is 7.0× annual cash flow. Net debt is subtracted from this fair value, but refinancing at higher rates, principal timing, and share dilution aren’t modeled — the equity can be worth far less if cash flow weakens.
Analysis, not advice. Fair value is a margin-of-safety estimate from a deterministic owner-earnings DCF, not a price target or recommendation. See the full breakdown →
Related companies
McDonald's (MCD) · The Wendy's (WEN) · Domino's Pizza (DPZ) · Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG)