Pizza Hut's sagging sales weigh on Yum Brands
Pizza Hut same-store sales fell 2%
Yum Brands Inc. reported fourth-quarter profit and same-store sales that fell short of expectations as a sales drop at Pizza Hut weighed. Shares slumped after the results crossed the wires.
The Louisville, Kentucky-based restaurant chain reported fourth-quarter profit surged 46.1 percent year-over-year to $488 million, or $1.58 a share, as revenue rose 9 percent to $1.69 billion. Adjusted earnings of $1 a share fell short of the $1.13 that analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were anticipating.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YUM | YUM! BRANDS INC. | 139.06 | +0.56 | +0.40% |
"Fourth-quarter results were a solid end to the year where we met or exceeded each component of our guidance, including full-year 2019 core operating profit growth, which was an increase of 12%, or 11% excluding the 53rd week," CFO Chris Turner said in a statement.
Companywide same-store sales increased 2 percent from a year ago amid gains of 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively, at KFC and Taco Bell.
Pizza Hut, however, saw a 2 percent drop amid increased competition. The pizza chain has pushed underperforming dine-in restaurants to be replaced with new model stores and has been testing an in-store digital-ordering system that lets customers order without human interaction.
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Yum Brands was up 6 percent year-to-date through Wednesday, outperforming the S&P 500's 3.2 percent gain.