3 Reasons Growth Investors Will Love Yum (YUM)

Core Viewpoint - Investors are seeking growth stocks that can deliver above-average growth and exceptional returns, but identifying such stocks is challenging due to inherent risks and volatility [1] Group 1: Growth Stock Identification - The Zacks Growth Style Score system aids in identifying promising growth stocks by analyzing real growth prospects beyond traditional metrics [2] - Yum Brands (YUM) is highlighted as a recommended stock with a favorable Growth Score and a top Zacks Rank [2] Group 2: Earnings Growth - Earnings growth is a critical factor for growth investors, with double-digit growth being highly desirable [3] - Yum's historical EPS growth rate is 10.3%, with projected EPS growth of 9.3% this year, significantly outperforming the industry average of 5% [4] Group 3: Asset Utilization - Yum's asset utilization ratio (sales-to-total-assets ratio) is 1.17, indicating higher efficiency in generating sales compared to the industry average of 0.97 [5] Group 4: Sales Growth - Yum's sales are expected to grow by 8.6% this year, which is substantially higher than the industry average of 3.6% [6] Group 5: Earnings Estimate Revisions - Positive trends in earnings estimate revisions are correlated with stock price movements, and Yum has seen a 0.5% upward revision in current-year earnings estimates over the past month [7][8] Group 6: Overall Assessment - Yum has achieved a Growth Score of B and a Zacks Rank of 2, indicating it is a potential outperformer and a solid choice for growth investors [10]