Shareholders Cry Tears of Joy After Yum Brands (+5%) Puts Pizza Hut on the Trade Block

“I’m not saying I definitely want to sell Pizza Hut, but if anyone makes me an offer, I’ll consider it.” -David Gibbs, CEO of Yum Brands

It’s officially trade deadline season in the NFL, and Yum’s GM aint messing around. You know those reports where a team insists they’d never trade their star player… unless someone offers 10 first-round picks and $100 billion in cash? And then proceeds to offload them right before the deadline’s over for a bag of footballs? That’s pretty much it. Gibbs is dangling Pizza Hut like a running back past his prime… still pretending he’s not taking calls when he absolutely is.

And honestly, you can’t blame him. Pizza Hut’s glory days are somewhere between Home Alone 2 and the original Space Jam. Its U.S. pizza market share has slipped from 22.6% in 2019 to 18.7% in 2024, according to Barclays. Meanwhile, Domino’s is out here operating like NASA Mission Control, tracking every delivery to the second, and Little Caesars is still laughing all the way to the bank with its $5 $7 pizza-and-pride combo (inflation’s a m’fer).

(Source: Wall Street Journal)

Just look at the numbers… in the last quarter, Pizza Hut’s same-store sales fell 1%, including a 6% drop in its U.S. home market. Taco Bell was up 7%, KFC was up 3%, and both brands are likely wondering how many stuffed crusts they’ll need to sell to keep their brother afloat.

Yum CFO Chris Turner, clearly tired of watching those red-roof losses pile up, said Pizza Hut might be “better executed outside of Yum Brands.” Translation: the “For Sale” sign’s already in the window. Yum’s now brought in Goldman and Barclays to “explore options,” so it’s clear their motivated sellers.

It’s a tough fall for what was once America’s go-to pizza joint. Founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, Pizza Hut used to be Friday night… the red roof, the buffet, the smell of pan pizza grease soaking into every memory. And who could forget the Book It! program, where kids literally read their way to free carbs? But then Domino’s turned pizza into a logistics business, Little Caesars cornered the budget crowd, and the Hut found itself stuck in between… too slow and expensive for delivery, too sad for dine-in.

Sure, COVID gave them a brief resurgence. Everyone was locked inside, rediscovering carbs and Netflix. But once the world reopened, the pizza party was over. Internationally, things aren’t much better… 68 U.K. stores closed last month, and its India operator, Sapphire Foods, hit the emergency brake on growth after coughing up losses.

That said, if Yum does pull the trigger, it won’t be alone. The restaurant world’s been cutting loose its problem children lately. Starbucks just sold a majority stake in its struggling China business. Jack in the Box dumped Del Taco for $115 million… less than a quarter of what it paid. And Krispy Kreme sold off Insomnia Cookies to focus on the doughnuts that still make people happy. Now it looks like Pizza Hut might be next on the chopping block… and judging by Yum’s stock jumping 5% on the news… I’d say shareholders couldn’t be happier.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News holds positions in Netflix and Starbucks as mentioned in the article