Zacks Research Has Pessimistic View of Yum China Q3 Earnings

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Yum China in a research note issued on Tuesday, December 17th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.80 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.81. The consensus estimate for Yum China’s current full-year earnings is $2.33 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum China’s FY2026 earnings at $2.99 EPS.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Yum China’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum China presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.57.

Yum China Price Performance

NYSE:YUMC opened at $48.97 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.93. Yum China has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $52.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum China news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum China

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 21.5% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $640,000 after acquiring an additional 3,672 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Yum China during the second quarter worth $52,000. Pictet North America Advisors SA lifted its stake in Yum China by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 374,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,512,000 after acquiring an additional 69,942 shares in the last quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society now owns 179,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,536,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 4.2% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Company Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc owns, operates, and franchises restaurants in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through KFC, Pizza Hut, and All Other segments. It operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Lavazza, Little Sheep, and Huang Ji Huang concepts. The company also operates V-Gold Mall, a mobile e-commerce platform to sell products; and offers online food deliver services.