Taco Bell owner Yum Brands misses revenue estimates despite soaring KFC sales

Earnings

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Signage is displayed outside a Yum! Brands Inc. Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020.
Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Yum Brands on Wednesday reported mixed quarterly results as Taco Bell’s and Pizza Hut’s same-store sales disappointed.

Shares of the company fell less than 1% in premarket trading.

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

  • Earnings per share: $1.41 adjusted vs. $1.24 expected
  • Revenue: $1.69 billion vs. $1.75 billion expected

The restaurant company reported second-quarter net income of $418 million, or $1.46 per share, up from $224 million, or 77 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding expenses related to its exit from Russia, refranchising gains and other items, Yum earned $1.41 per share.

Net sales rose 3% to $1.69 billion. The company’s digital sales increased nearly 30% in the quarter, accounting for nearly half of orders.

Yum Brands’ same-store sales grew 9% in the quarter, topping StreetAccount estimates of 6.9%.

KFC’s same-store sales climbed 13%, fueled by returning demand in China, its largest market. KFC’s system sales in China soared 32%, while its U.S. system sales rose 5%.

Pizza Hut reported same-store sales growth of 4%, missing StreetAccount estimates of 6.3%. The pizza chain’s domestic same-store sales rose just 1%.

Taco Bell’s same-store sales also rose 4%, falling short of estimates of 4.3%. Its U.S. same-store sales increased 4%, but its international same-store sales shrank 1% in the quarter.

Most of the Mexican-inspired chain’s locations are in the U.S., although it has expanded internationally in recent years.

Yum opened more than 1,000 new locations during the quarter.