Yum! Brands (YUM) Climbs 7% on Q3 Blowout, Pizza Hut Review

We recently published 10 Firms Stealing Market Spotlight Amid Bloodbath. Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) is one of the best-performing on Tuesday.

Yum! Brands rallied for a second day on Tuesday, jumping 7.3 percent to close at $149.55 apiece after reporting a strong earnings performance in the third quarter of the year and announcing a strategic review of the struggling Pizza Hut brand.

In an updated report, Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) said it was able to grow its net income by 4 percent to $397 million from $382 million in the same period last year, as revenues increased by 8 percent to $1.98 billion from $1.83 billion year-on-year on the back of strong worldwide sales performance from Taco Bell and KFC.

Operating profit rose by 8 percent to $666 million from $619 million, while total costs and expenses increased by 9 percent to $1.3 billion from $1.2 billion.

In other developments, Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) said it would review strategic options for Pizza Hut in a bid to “reach its full potential for the benefit of its franchisees, consumers, and employees and to maximize value for Yum! shareholders.”

However, it did not specify whether the review process would lead to a sale or restructuring, among other actions.

“The Pizza Hut team has been working hard to address business and category challenges; however, Pizza Hut’s performance indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realize its full value, which may be better executed outside of Yum! Brands,” said Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Chris Turner.

“To truly take advantage of the brand we’ve built and the opportunities ahead, we’ve made the decision to initiate a thorough review of strategic options,” he noted.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.