- Analyst firm TD Cowen restated its “Buy” rating for Yum! Brands, raising its price target to $186.00.
- The company reported robust Q1 2026 revenues of $2.06 billion and an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.50.
- Taco Bell led growth with an 8% gain in same-store sales, while digital sales reached a record 63% of total system sales.
Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) is a global company that operates quick-service restaurants. Its well-known brands include KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill. The company has a massive presence, with over 63,000 restaurants spread across 155 different markets worldwide, making it one of the largest players in the fast-food industry.
Following strong quarterly performance, analyst firm TD Cowen restated its “Buy” rating for Yum! Brands on April 29, 2026. The firm also raised its price target for the stock to $186.00 from $180.00. A price target is an analyst’s projection of a stock’s future price. At that time, Yum! Brands’ stock was trading at $159.86 per share.
This positive outlook is supported by the company’s first-quarter 2026 results. Yum! Brands reported revenues of $2.06 billion, a 15.2% increase from the previous year. It also posted an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.50. EPS shows how much profit the company makes for each share of its stock, and this figure grew by 15.4%.
The strong results were largely driven by its Taco Bell division, which saw an 8% gain in same-store sales, as highlighted by CNBC. This metric compares sales at existing locations to the same period last year. While Taco Bell performed well, other brands had mixed results. KFC’s profit increased by 16%, but Pizza Hut’s operating profit fell by 14%.
Overall, Yum! Brands’ worldwide system sales, which include sales from all restaurants in the network, grew by 6%. The company also expanded by opening 1,030 new locations. Digital sales have become a key growth driver, reaching nearly $11.00 billion and making up a record 63% of the company’s total system sales for the quarter.
