What Happened?

Shares of fast-food company Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) jumped 8.1% in the morning session after the company reported fourth-quarter results that met analysts' expectations for same-store sales, leading to in-line revenue. On the bottom line, EPS beat slightly. While there was no specific 2025 guidance, management noted that this year should be another one following their long-term growth algorithm. Overall, this was a solid quarter with no major surprises.

Is now the time to buy Yum! Brands? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

What The Market Is Telling Us

Yum! Brands’s shares are not very volatile and have had no moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. 

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 9 months ago when the stock dropped 6.5% on the news that the company reported weak first-quarter results with revenue missing analysts' expectations on lower-than-expected same-store sales. Management cited a "difficult operating environment." However, the company highlighted the focus on driving the top line as it opened 800 new units during the quarter, setting it on track to open 60,000 restaurants this year in 2024. Additionally, EPS missed Wall Street's estimates as well. Overall, this was a weaker quarter for Yum! Brands.

Yum! Brands is up 6.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $142.64 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $143.19 from April 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Yum! Brands’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,375.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it should be obvious by now that generative AI is going to have a huge impact on how large corporations do business. While Nvidia and AMD are trading close to all-time highs, we prefer a lesser-known (but still profitable) semiconductor stock benefiting from the rise of AI. Click here to access our free report on our favorite semiconductor growth story.