YUM! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) today reported results for the third-quarter ended September 30, 2019.
The company recorded $60 million of pre-tax investment expense related to the change in fair value of our investment in Grubhub, which resulted in a negative ($0.15) impact in EPS. When coupled with $94 million of pre-tax investment income recorded in the third quarter of 2018, which resulted in a $0.22 benefit to EPS, our Grubhub investment unfavorably impacted year-over-year EPS growth by ($0.37).
CEO Greg Creed said "Following a very strong first half of 2019 and in line with our expectations, third-quarter results were consistent with our long-term growth model. We delivered system sales growth of 8%, with same-store sales of 3% and net-new unit growth of 7%, led by continued strong performances at KFC International and Taco Bell.
"I couldn’t be prouder of the progress that our teams around the world have made to become more focused, more franchised and more efficient; all while accelerating global growth."
YUM! opened 389 net units in the quarter. On a year-over-year basis, which takes into account the strategic alliance with Telepizza in the fourth-quarter 2018, net-new unit growth was 7%.
YUM! re-purchased 1.5 million shares totaling $174 million at an average price per share of $115.
Creed is set to retire soon, to be succeeded by David Gibbs, and "I’m confident that… David Gibbs is the right leader to leverage our scale and key growth drivers to enhance franchisee economics, champion the customer experience and drive global growth to maximize value for our stakeholders."
YUM! began the day’s trading down $7.85, or 7.2%, to $101.79
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