Yum! Brands (YUM) Climbs 7% on Q3 Blowout, Pizza Hut Review

Core Insights - Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has shown strong performance with a 7.3% increase in stock price, closing at $149.55, following a robust earnings report for Q3 and a strategic review of Pizza Hut [1][3]. Financial Performance - Net income for Yum! Brands grew by 4% to $397 million from $382 million year-on-year, while revenues increased by 8% to $1.98 billion from $1.83 billion, driven by strong sales from Taco Bell and KFC [2]. - Operating profit rose by 8% to $666 million from $619 million, with total costs and expenses increasing by 9% to $1.3 billion from $1.2 billion [3]. Strategic Developments - The company announced a strategic review of Pizza Hut to explore options that could help the brand realize its full potential, although it did not specify whether this would lead to a sale or restructuring [3][4]. - CEO Chris Turner emphasized the need for additional actions to address Pizza Hut's performance challenges, suggesting that the brand may perform better outside of Yum! Brands [4].