Q1 Earnings Forecast for Yum China Issued By Zacks Research

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Yum China in a report released on Wednesday, March 26th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now anticipates that the company will earn $0.78 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.79. The consensus estimate for Yum China’s current full-year earnings is $2.54 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yum China’s Q3 2025 earnings at $0.77 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.51 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.94 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.90 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.31 EPS.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of YUMC stock opened at $53.19 on Friday. Yum China has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $20.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.43.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in YUMC. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,177,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Yum China by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 56,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,794,000 after acquiring an additional 8,101 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Yum China in the fourth quarter worth $322,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at $809,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $31,836,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Yum China news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. The trade was a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

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.