Yum! Brands Reports Second-Quarter Results; Record 603 Net-New Units; Digital System Sales of Over $5 Billion; Same-Store Sales Growth of 23%; Reinstates Long-Term Growth Algorithm with Raised Unit Guidance

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today reported results for the second-quarter ended June 30, 2021. Worldwide system sales excluding foreign currency translation grew 26%, with 23% same-store sales and 2% unit growth. Second-quarter GAAP EPS was $1.29, an increase of 91% over the prior year quarter. Second-quarter EPS excluding Special Items was $1.16, an increase of 41% over the prior year quarter.

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DAVID GIBBS COMMENTS

David Gibbs, CEO, said “Our strong second-quarter results, led by record unit development and 23% same-store sales growth are a testament to our iconic brands, world-class talent, and best-in-class franchisees. I’m proud that each of our divisions reported positive same-store sales growth on a 2-year basis, a step up from first-quarter trends. This sustained momentum was underpinned by our investments in digital and off-premise and the agility of our brands to meet the needs of consumers in an ever-changing environment. I'm thrilled to say that unit development has accelerated driven by strong unit-level economics. On the basis of these strong results, we're reinstating our long-term growth algorithm and revising the unit growth component of this algorithm from 4% unit growth to between 4% and 5% unit growth. The resilience of our diversified global business positions us perfectly to drive growth and maximize value creation for all our stakeholders for years to come.”

SECOND-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

• Worldwide system sales excluding foreign currency translation grew 26%, with KFC at 35%, Taco Bell at 24% and Pizza Hut at 10%.
• We reported 2% unit growth year-over-year and record second-quarter net new unit growth of 603.
• Foreign currency translation favorably impacted divisional operating profit by $27 million.

KFC DIVISION

• KFC Division opened 522 gross new restaurants in 62 countries.
• Operating margin increased 9.1 percentage points driven by same-store sales growth, lower bad debt expense, and unit growth.
• Foreign currency translation favorably impacted operating profit by $23 million.
• For the division, same-store sales grew 2% on a 2-year basis, which includes the impact of about 1% of our stores being temporarily closed as of the end of the second-quarter 2021.
  • For KFC International, same-store sales declined 1% on a 2-year basis, which includes the impact of about 2% of our stores being temporarily closed as of the end of the second-quarter 2021.
  • For KFC U.S., same-store sales grew 19% on a 2-year basis.

PIZZA HUT DIVISION

• Pizza Hut Division opened 210 gross new restaurants in 36 countries.
• Operating margin increased 4.5 percentage points driven by same-store sales growth.
• Foreign currency translation favorably impacted operating profit by $4 million.
• For the division, same-store sales grew 1% on a 2-year basis, which includes the impact of about 2% of our stores being temporarily closed as of the end of the second-quarter 2021.
  • For Pizza Hut International, same-store sales declined 6% on a 2-year basis, which includes the impact of about 2% of our stores being temporarily closed as of the end of the second-quarter 2021.
  • For Pizza Hut U.S., same-store sales grew 9% on a 2-year basis, which includes the impact of about 1% of our stores being temporarily closed as of the end of the second-quarter 2021.

TACO BELL DIVISION

• Taco Bell Division opened 91 gross new restaurants in 18 countries.
• Operating margin increased 2.8 percentage points due to same-store sales growth offset by higher restaurant costs.
• For the division, same-store sales grew 12% on a 2-year basis.

HABIT BURGER GRILL DIVISION

• The Habit Burger Grill Division opened 4 gross new restaurants in the U.S and Cambodia.
• During the quarter, The Habit Burger Grill Division same-store sales grew 31%.
  • For the year-to-date, The Habit Burger Grill Division same-store sales grew 22%.
• For the division, same-store sales grew 7% on a 2-year basis, which includes the impact of about 1% of stores that were temporarily closed as of the end of the second-quarter 2021.

OTHER ITEMS

• Same-store sales growth on a 2-year basis is calculated using the geometric method as follows: (1 + Q2 2020 reported same-store sales growth) * (1 + Q2 2021 reported same-store sales growth) - 1.
• On April 1, we issued $1.1 billion of YUM Senior Unsecured Notes with a coupon of 4.625% due in 2032. The proceeds from this transaction were used to redeem $1.05 billion of 5.25% Subsidiary Senior Unsecured Notes (due in 2026), including the applicable call premium.
• On June 30, we issued a redemption notice for our $350 million 3.75% YUM Senior Unsecured Notes, which were scheduled to mature on November 1, 2021. The notes will be redeemed on August 2, 2021 at par.
• Disclosures pertaining to outstanding debt in our Restricted Group capital structure will be provided at the time of the filing of the second-quarter Form 10-Q.

CONFERENCE CALL

Yum! Brands, Inc. will host a conference call to review the company's financial performance and strategies at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time July 29, 2021. The number is 877/871-3172 for U.S. callers, 412/902-6603 for international callers, conference ID 5033749.

The call will be available for playback beginning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time July 29, 2021 through August 5, 2021. To access the playback, dial 877/344-7529 in the U.S., 855/669-9658 in Canada, and 412/317-0088 internationally, conference ID 10158416.

The webcast and the playback can be accessed by visiting Yum! Brands' website, investors.yum.com/events-and-presentations and selecting “Q2 2021 Yum! Brands, Inc. Earnings Call.”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

Quarter end dates for each division, restaurant count details, definitions of terms and Restricted Group financial information are available at investors.yum.com. Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are included within this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We intend all forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as “expect,” “expectation,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “may,” “could,” “intend,” “belief,” “plan,” “estimate,” “target,” “predict,” “likely,” “seek,” “project,” “model,” “ongoing,” “will,” “should,” “forecast,” “outlook” or similar terminology. These statements are based on and reflect our current expectations, estimates, assumptions and/or projections, our perception of historical trends and current conditions, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances. Forward-looking statements are neither predictions nor guarantees of future events, circumstances or performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. There can be no assurance that our expectations, estimates, assumptions and/or projections, including with respect to the future earnings and performance or capital structure of Yum! Brands, will prove to be correct or that any of our expectations, estimates or projections will be achieved.

Numerous factors could cause our actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, food safety and food borne-illness issues; health concerns arising from outbreaks of a significant health epidemic; the success of our franchisees and licensees; our significant exposure to the Chinese market; changes in economic and political conditions in countries and territories outside of the U.S. where we operate; our ability to protect the integrity and security of personal information of our customers and employees; our ability to successfully implement technology initiatives; our increasing dependence on multiple digital commerce platforms; the impact of social media; our ability to secure and maintain distribution and adequate supply to our restaurants; the loss of key personnel, or labor shortages or difficulty finding qualified employees; the success of our development strategy in emerging markets; changes in commodity, labor and other operating costs; harm or dilution to our brands caused by franchisee and third party activity; pending or future litigation and legal claims or proceedings; changes in or noncompliance with government regulations, including labor standards and anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws; tax matters, including changes in tax laws or disagreements with taxing authorities; consumer preferences and perceptions of our brands; failure to protect our service marks or other intellectual property; changes in consumer discretionary spending and general economic conditions; competition within the retail food industry; not realizing the anticipated benefits from past or potential future acquisitions, investments or other strategic transactions, and risks relating to our significant amount of indebtedness. In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty.

The forward-looking statements included in this announcement are only made as of the date of this announcement and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results.

Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 51,000 restaurants in more than 150 countries and territories primarily operating the company’s brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. The Company’s family of brands also includes The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual restaurant concept specializing in made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches and more. Yum! Brands was included on the 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and in 2020, Yum! Brands was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America and was ranked among the top 100 Best Corporate Citizens by 3BL Media.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measurements to GAAP Results
(amounts in millions, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)

In addition to the results provided in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America ("GAAP"), the Company provides the following non-GAAP measurements.

• Diluted Earnings Per Share ("EPS") excluding Special Items (as defined below);

• Effective Tax Rate excluding Special Items;

• Core Operating Profit. Core Operating Profit excludes Special Items and FX and we use Core Operating Profit for the purposes of evaluating performance internally;

• Company restaurant profit and Company restaurant margin as a percentage of sales (as defined below).

These non-GAAP measurements are not intended to replace the presentation of our financial results in accordance with GAAP. Rather, the Company believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP measurements provide additional information to investors to facilitate the comparison of past and present operations.

Special Items are not included in any of our Division segment results as the Company does not believe they are indicative of our ongoing operations due to their size and/or nature. Our chief operating decision maker does not consider the impact of Special Items when assessing segment performance. The Special Items are described in (a) - (h) in the accompanying notes.

Company restaurant profit is defined as Company sales less Company restaurant expenses, both of which appear on the face of our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. Company restaurant expenses include those expenses incurred directly by our Company-owned restaurants in generating Company sales, including cost of food and paper, cost of restaurant-level labor, rent, depreciation and amortization of restaurant-level assets and advertising expenses incurred by and on behalf of that Company restaurant. Company restaurant margin as a percentage of sales ("Company restaurant margin %") is defined as Company restaurant profit divided by Company sales. We use Company restaurant profit for the purposes of internally evaluating the performance of our Company-owned restaurants and we believe Company restaurant profit provides useful information to investors as to the profitability of our Company-owned restaurants. In calculating Company restaurant profit, the Company excludes revenues and expenses directly associated with our franchise operations as well as non-restaurant-level costs included in General and administrative expenses, some of which may support Company-owned restaurant operations. The Company also excludes restaurant-level asset impairment and closures expenses, which have historically not been significant, from the determination of Company restaurant profit as such expenses are not believed to be indicative of ongoing operations. Company restaurant profit and Company restaurant margin % as presented may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies in the industry.

Certain non-GAAP measurements are presented excluding the impact of FX. These amounts are derived by translating current year results at prior year average exchange rates. We believe the elimination of the FX impact provides better year-to-year comparability without the distortion of foreign currency fluctuations.