Yum! Brands Q4 Adj. EPS Misses Estimates, But Revenues Top - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) announced Wednesday that net earnings for the fourth quarter edged down to $330 million from $332 million in the prior-year quarter, while earnings per share grew to $1.11 from last year's $1.08.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings were $1.02 per share, compared to $1.15 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Total revenues for the quarter grew 8 percent to $1.89 billion from $1.74 billion in the same quarter last year.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.09 per share on sales of $1.88 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Fourth-quarter world-wide system sales growth was 9 percent, excluding foreign currency translation, with KFC up 10 percent, Taco Bell up 11 percent, and Pizza Hut up 4 percent. This also included 5 percent same store sales growth and over $6 billion in digital sales.

The company added 1,678 gross units during the fourth quarter.