March 27, 2025
Top 10 Stock Yum! Strong Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Yum! – Top 10 Stock in Employee Satisfaction Leaders in the United States
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Yum! is listed as a top 10 stock on March 27, 2025 in the market index Employee Focus US because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. As all consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, including positive market sentiment in the professional investor community, it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is limited. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 100 (top 100% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for Yum! on March 27, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Index | Dividends USA, Employee Focus US, Diversity USA, S&P US Luxury, S&P 500 |
| Size class | X-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Yum! Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | March 27, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 57 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 87 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 70 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 96 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 100 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 100 (better than 100% compared with alternatives) for 2025, overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Yum! are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all four indicators above average for Yum!. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 57, which means that the share price of Yum! is on the lower side compared with the typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is lower than for 57% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 87, which means that the company experiences above-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. The company is also safely financed with a Safety rank of 70. Finally, professional market sentiment is above average compared with other stock investment alternatives with a Sentiment Rank of 96. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 100, Yum! is better positioned than 100% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As all consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Value Rank of 57), above-average growth (Growth Rank of 87), safe financing practices (Safety Rank of 70), and a positive market sentiment in the professional investor community (Sentiment Rank of 96), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is limited and disappointments are less likely to occur, unless information not publicly available. High-Value Ranks sometimes indicate that the company's future is challenging. If they are safely financed and have above average growth, and are still a good value, it may indicate that this will not continue. We recommend evaluating whether the future of Yum! is as difficult as the stock’s low price, despite what good growth and safe financing practice suggest. Since the professional community is optimistic, you might have less to worry about, and the stock is just not sufficiently visible, which may indicate good timing right now. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Yum! very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives) for 2025, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Yum! is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Yum!. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 18 (worse than 82% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 83, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Yum!. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 88, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 88% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 97, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 97% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 96 (more positive than 96% compared with investment alternatives), Yum! has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: Yum! Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 57 (better than 57% compared with alternatives), Yum! shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Yum!. Expected dividend yields are higher than for 74% of comparable companies (a Dividend Yield rank of 74), making the stock attractive. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 84, which means that the stock price is lower compared with invested capital than for 84% of comparable investments. But in respect to sales and profits, the picture is reversed. Price-to-Sales is 7 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than for 93% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Yum!'s sales levels. The Price-to-Profit ratio (also referred to as price-earnings (P/E) ratio) is also unfavorable for Yum! with a rank of 33. This means that the stock price, compared with what market professionals expect for future profits, is higher than for 67% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Yum!'s profit levels. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 57, is a buy recommendation based on Yum!'s stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. The company seems confident that it can generate a reasonable return on invested capital, because it pays an above-average dividend while profits are below what you would expect for a company with this stock price. If you agree with this practice and believe that profits will return to higher levels, as the current dividend policy suggests, Yum! may be an attractive investment. If this is not the case, you may want to be careful with this stock as it is also expensive compared with its expected revenue levels. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Yum! Growth Momentum high
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 87 (better than 87% compared with alternatives) for 2025, Yum! shows one of the highest growth dynamics in its industry. Investors also speak of high momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Yum!. Sales Growth has a rank of 60 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 60% of its competitors. Capital Growth is also above 45% of competitors with a rank of 76, and Stock Returns with the rank of 91 is also an outperformance. Only Profit Growth is low with a rank of 45 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 55% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 87, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. All three operating growth indicators, namely revenue, profit, and capital growth, are showing improvements. This is a good indication of a company with a positive future. That might, at the same time, be the simple reason why profit growth is low. A growing company needs money and thus can't yet show high profit growth. Look out for signs in corporate communication about extra growth efforts costing time and money. If that is the case, Yum! is a good growth stock. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Yum! Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | March 27, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 3 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 78 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 88 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 70 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 70 (better than 70% compared with alternatives), the company Yum! has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of Yum! is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above-average for Yum!. Refinancing is at 78, meaning the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 78% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at 88, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 88% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. However, Leverage is rather large at 3, which means the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 97% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 70 (better than 70% compared with alternatives), Yum! has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. This is not bad if things go well. The higher debt level means better returns to shareholders if things go well. Many top-performing companies operate with higher debt levels, and Yum! could be in that group. But if you expect the environment to turn rougher, the higher leverage could become a problem. The same is valid if you expect interest rates to rise. That could squeeze shareholder returns, which so far have benefitted from better conditions. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Yum! Top Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | March 27, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 57 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 87 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 88 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 98 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 98 (better than 98% compared with investment alternatives), Yum! (Restaurants, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Yum! are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 57 (better than 57% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 87), and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 70), which means low debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 98, is a strong buy recommendation based on Yum!'s financial characteristics. As the company Yum!'s key financial metrics all exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 57), above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 87), and indicate that the company is safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 70), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the share is limited, unless the company has a bleak future. Such good financial performance can indicate that the company's future might actually be challenging, as it may be difficult to maintain the good performance. If they are safely financed and have been growing above average, and are still a good value, it means that the market is keeping prices low, for a reason which may become clearer over time. We recommend evaluating the future of Yum!. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. ...read more
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