KFC, Pizza Hut operator Yum China accelerates expansion amid ‘early signs’ of spending thaw
After earnings exceed estimates, company will add outlets at faster pace than last year, with focus on second-tier cities
Yum China Holdings, operator of the KFC and Pizza Hut chains across mainland China and Hong Kong, plans to rev up store expansion this year after its fourth-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates.
The fast-food behemoth aimed to add 1,900 new outlets in 2026, bringing the total to 20,000, after it opened 1,706 new stores in 2025, said Adrian Ding, chief financial officer.
The company was inviting more investors to open franchise stores, which would account for 40 to 50 per cent of new outlets this year, Ding said in a results briefing on Wednesday. This would help sharpen the company’s focus on untapped areas, as lower-tier cities offered better growth opportunities, he added.
“Looking ahead, we are on track to reach over 20,000 stores in 2026 and are targeting more than 30,000 stores by 2030 with an equity-and-franchise hybrid model,” she said. “We are also broadening our addressable market through front-end segmentation and back-end consolidation.”
The statements came after Yum China reported adjusted per-share earnings of 40 US cents for the three months ending December, up 33 per cent from the same period a year earlier. It exceeded a consensus estimate of 30 US cents from a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
Revenue in the fourth quarter increased 8.8 per cent from a year earlier to US$2.82 billion, compared with the analysts’ forecast of US$2.72 billion. Same-store sales grew 3 per cent year on year.