The move comes as the brand struggles to keep pace in an increasingly competitive pizza market

Bengaluru: Fast-food giant Yum! Brands, Inc., parent company of the global pizza chain Pizza Hut, announced on November 4, 2025 that it is conducting a formal review of strategic options for Pizza Hut—potentially including a sale.

Pizza Hut operates nearly 20,000 restaurants across more than 100 countries. Internationally, the brand’s sales rose about 2 % during the first nine months of the year, with China serving as its second-largest market outside the U.S. However, roughly half of Pizza Hut’s revenue still comes from the U.S., where the chain operates around 6,500 stores—here, sales declined approximately 7 % in the same period.

Yum! Brands Chief Executive Officer Chris Turner acknowledged that while Pizza Hut retains significant strengths—such as its global footprint and brand recognition—the chain’s U.S. performance “indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realise its full value, which may be better executed outside of Yum! Brands.”

The company did not set a deadline for the review and stated that it will not comment further until the process is complete. Shares of Yum! Brands jumped nearly 7 % in early trading on the day of the announcement.

Yum! Brands, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the world’s largest restaurant companies, operating and franchising more than 61,000 restaurants in over 155 countries under brands including Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell. Over 98 % of these outlets are run by franchisees, underscoring the company’s asset-light global strategy.

As Pizza Hut’s U.S. dine-in model becomes less aligned with shifting consumer behaviour—favoring pickup, delivery and smaller footprints—Yum! Brands appears ready to consider structural alternatives to refocus the brand for future growth.