Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) reported Q2 EPS of $0.82, $0.08 better than the analyst estimate of $0.74. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.37 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion.

GREG CREED COMMENTS

Greg Creed, CEO, said, “We continue to execute against our multi-year transformation strategy and remain on track with our full-year 2018 guidance. Second quarter core operating profit was consistent with our expectations and we are seeing good progress against our plans as we start the second half of the year. Importantly, I remain confident our actions to become more focused, more franchised and more efficient are establishing the foundation required for sustainable, long-term growth that will translate to strong returns for all Yum! Brands stakeholders."

SECOND-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

• Worldwide system sales excluding foreign currency translation grew 4%, with KFC at 6%, Taco Bell at 5% and Pizza Hut flat.
• We opened 243 net new units for 4% net new unit growth.
• We refranchised 51 restaurants, including 28 KFC and 23 Pizza Hut units, for pre-tax proceeds of $47 million. We recorded net refranchising gains of $29 million in Special Items. As of quarter end, our global franchise ownership mix was 97%.
• We repurchased 7.6 million shares totaling $643 million at an average price of $84.
• We reflected the change in fair value of our investment in Grubhub by recording $25 million of pre-tax investment income, resulting in $0.06 in EPS.
• Foreign currency translation favorably impacted divisional operating profit by $8 million.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Yum! Brands (YUM) click here.