Which Is a Better Investment, Yum! Brands, Inc. or Yum China Holdings Inc Stock?

By Jenna Brashear
June 21, 2026
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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. owns, operates, and franchises restaurants in the People’s Republic of China. The company operates through two 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 offers online food delivery services. Yum China Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China.

Yum! Brands, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises traditional and non-traditional quick service restaurants in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: KFC Division, Taco Bell Division, Pizza Hut Division, and Habit Burger & Grill Division. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger & Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, Mexican-style food and pizza categories, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, and other products. The company was formerly known as TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc. and changed its name to Yum! Brands, Inc. in May 2002. Yum! Brands, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Latest Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure and Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands, Inc. Stock News

As of June 18, 2026, Yum China Holdings, Inc. had a $14.8 billion market capitalization, compared to the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure median of $2.2 million. Yum China Holdings, Inc.’s stock is down 10.1% in 2026, down 3.8% in the previous five trading days and NA 0% in the past year.

Currently, Yum China Holdings, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 16.5. Yum China Holdings, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $12.1 billion with a 7.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.917 per share for the current fiscal year. Yum China Holdings, Inc. currently has a 2.7% dividend yield.

As of June 18, 2026, Yum! Brands, Inc. had a $41.9 billion market cap, putting it in the 92nd percentile of all stocks. Yum! Brands, Inc.’s stock is up 0.5% in 2026, down 1.5% in the previous five trading days and up 8.57% in the past year.

Currently, Yum! Brands, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 24.5. Yum! Brands, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $8.5 billion with a 20.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 15.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.742 per share for the current fiscal year. Yum! Brands, Inc. currently has a 2.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
Yum China Holdings, Inc. YUMC B
Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a Value Score of 63, which is Value. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a Value Score of 26, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: Yum China Holdings, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Yum China Holdings, Inc. is considered to have better value than Yum! Brands, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Yum China Holdings, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc. Growth Grades

Company Ticker Growth
Yum China Holdings, Inc. YUMC A
Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
Yum China Holdings, Inc. YUMC A
Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a Quality Score of 92, which is Very Strong. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a Quality Score of 81, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions

Other Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Value and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Estimate Revisions.

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Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Yum China Holdings, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 63, Growth Score of 95 and Quality Score of 92.

Yum! Brands, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 26, Growth Score of 100 and Quality Score of 81.

Comparing Yum China Holdings, Inc., Yum! Brands and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

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AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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