Yum China Holdings (YUMC) Earnings Dates, Call Summary & Reports

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Earnings Data

Report Date

May 05, 2026

After Close (Confirmed)

Period Ending

2026 (Q1)

Consensus EPS Forecast

0.87

Last Year’s EPS

0.77

Same Quarter Last Year

Analyst Consensus

Strong Buy

Based on 16 Analysts Ratings

Earnings Call Summary

Q4 2025

Earnings Call Date:Feb 04, 2026|

% Change Since:

Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive

The call presents a predominantly positive picture: strong sequential momentum in Q4, meaningful margin expansion (OP margin at 10.9% for the year), robust operating profit and EPS growth, aggressive store expansion, successful product and module rollouts (K Coffee, K Pro, Pizza Hut thin-crust), and substantial cash returns to shareholders. Key near-term risks center on a rising delivery mix and related rider/labor costs, tougher Q1 comps and a smaller commodity tailwind, plus a modest full-year same-store sales improvement. Overall, management expects to sustain margin and sales momentum and has committed sizable capital returns and growth targets for 2026, indicating confidence in execution.

Company Guidance

Yum China guided 2026 toward accelerated expansion and steady margin improvement: it expects to exceed 20,000 stores by opening more than 1,900 net new locations with a 40–50% franchise mix, target total CapEx of $600–$700M (supported by lower per‑store CapEx such as Gemini pairs at ¥0.7–0.8M and Pizza Hut Wow standalone at ¥0.65–0.85M), and to deliver on its Investor Day framework — sales index 100–102, mid‑ to high‑single‑digit system sales growth, high‑single‑digit operating profit growth, double‑digit EPS growth and a slight improvement in restaurant margin and OP margin. Management also reiterated $1.5B of shareholder returns for 2026 (continuing $1.5B/year through 2024–2026), raised the quarterly dividend 21% to $0.29 (implying >45% payout of 2025 diluted EPS and ~ $400M annual dividends) and initiated a $460M buyback; starting 2027 it plans to return ~100% of annual free cash flow to shareholders, implying average annual returns of $900M–$1B+ in 2027–28 and >$1B thereafter. Near term, the company expects further delivery‑mix growth, aims to deliver a fourth consecutive quarter of positive same‑store sales growth and a thirteenth consecutive quarter of positive same‑store transaction growth in Q1, and expects Q1 margins to be roughly in line with the prior year.

Aggressive Net New Store Expansion

Opened more than 1,700 net new stores in 2025, taking the total to over 18,000 stores across more than 2,500 cities; guidance to exceed 20,000 stores in 2026 (>1,900 net new stores) and a target of 30,000 stores by 2030.

System and Same-Store Sales Momentum

System sales grew 7% year over year in Q4 2025 (4% for the full year); same-store sales grew 3% in Q4 and 1% for the full year; same-store sales turned positive for three consecutive quarters.

Operating Profit and Margin Expansion

Operating profit (excluding special items) grew 11% to $1.3 billion for full year 2025; Q4 operating profit was $187 million, up 23% year over year. Full-year OP margin expanded to 10.9% (highest since US listing) and restaurant margin improved to 16.3% (+60 bps year over year).

Strong Brand Performers — KFC

KFC opened 1,349 stores in 2025 (total nearly 13,000); KFC system sales growth of 8% in Q4 and 5% for the full year; restaurant margins expanded ~50 bps to 17.4%; hero products accounted for one-third of KFC sales and delivered high single-digit growth.

Transformational Growth — Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut opened a record 444 net new stores (total 4,168); sold over 200 million pizzas in 2025; Q4 system sales up 6%, same-store transactions up 13% and full-year operating profit growth ~20% with restaurant margin improving 80 bps to 12.8%; new thin-crust product 'Sohu Bao Di' now represents ~1 out of 3 pizzas sold.

Transaction and Product Innovation

Total transactions grew 8% in 2025, exceeding 2 billion; about 600 new or upgraded items launched annually and 70 IP partnerships to drive traffic and engagement.

Modular & Multi-brand Rollouts Driving Incremental Sales

K Coffee Cafe tripled footprint from ~700 to 2,200 locations (per-store daily cups +25% YoY); K Coffee Cafes generated a mid-single-digit sales uplift for parent KFC stores; K Pro added >200 locations and generated a double-digit sales uplift for parent stores, with plans to double K Pro footprint to >400 in 2026.

Strong Cash Generation and Capital Returns

Free cash flow was $840 million in 2025 (+18% YoY); year-end net cash of ~$2.0 billion; returned $1.5 billion to shareholders in 2025 (≈$353M dividends + $1.14B buybacks) and committed to $1.5B annually through 2026; raised quarterly dividend 21% to $0.29 and initiated a $460M repurchase plan for 2026.

Improved Capital Efficiency and EPS Growth

ROIC improved to 17.3% (from 16.9% in 2024); full-year diluted EPS $2.51 (+8% YoY; +14% excluding Meituan); Q4 diluted EPS $0.40 (+29% YoY; +21% excluding Meituan).

Technology & GenAI Adoption

Rolled out AI initiatives: Q Smart operational assistant pilot and SmartK AI ordering agent deployed to all KFC super app users (used by 2 million members), aimed at efficiency gains and improved customer experience.

Yum China Holdings (YUMC) Earnings, Revenues Date & History

The upcoming earnings date is based on a company’s previous reporting, and may be updated when the actual date is announced

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YUMC Earnings History

Report Date	Fiscal Quarter	Forecast / EPS	Last Year's EPS	EPS YoY Change	Slides	Play Transcript
May 05, 2026	2026 (Q1)	0.87 / -	0.77	―	―	―
Feb 04, 2026	2025 (Q4)	0.30 / 0.40	0.3	33.33% (+0.10)
Nov 04, 2025	2025 (Q3)	0.74 / 0.76	0.77	-1.30% (-0.01)
Aug 05, 2025	2025 (Q2)	0.57 / 0.58	0.55	5.45% (+0.03)
Apr 30, 2025	2025 (Q1)	0.79 / 0.77	0.71	8.45% (+0.06)
Feb 06, 2025	2024 (Q4)	0.29 / 0.30	0.25	20.00% (+0.05)
Nov 04, 2024	2024 (Q3)	0.66 / 0.77	0.59	30.51% (+0.18)
Aug 05, 2024	2024 (Q2)	0.47 / 0.55	0.472	16.53% (+0.08)
Apr 29, 2024	2024 (Q1)	0.65 / 0.71	0.687	3.35% (+0.02)
Feb 06, 2024	2023 (Q4)	0.16 / 0.25	0.12	108.33% (+0.13)

The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.

Beat

Missed

YUMC Earnings-Related Price Changes

Report Date	Price 1 Day Before	Price 1 Day After	Percentage Change
Feb 04, 2026	$50.46	$52.84	+4.73%
Nov 04, 2025	$43.52	$44.35	+1.91%
Aug 05, 2025	$45.75	$42.95	-6.11%
Apr 30, 2025	$45.69	$42.39	-7.22%

Earnings announcements can affect a stock’s price. This table shows the stock's price the day before and the day after recent earnings reports, including the percentage change.