Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs to Retire in 2026; Succession Planning Underway

Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) has announced that Chief Executive Officer David Gibbs will retire in the first quarter of 2026, concluding a distinguished 36-year career with the company. The Board of Directors has launched a succession planning process to identify the next CEO, with Gibbs continuing to lead during the transition.

Gibbs, who became CEO in January 2020, guided the company through a digital transformation and navigated it through the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership, Yum! Brands accelerated restaurant development, tripled annual net new unit growth, and surpassed $30 billion in digital sales in 2024, with more than half of all transactions conducted through digital channels.

Non-Executive Chairman Brian Cornell praised Gibbs’ legacy, noting his transformative impact on the company and his role in strengthening the company’s iconic brands—KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger Grill.

Yum! Brands operates over 61,000 restaurants in more than 155 countries and territories and continues to rank highly across sustainability, innovation, and franchise leadership rankings.

The next CEO is expected to be appointed with ample time to ensure a seamless transition. Gibbs reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the process and delivering on the company’s strategic growth objectives in the meantime.

Yum! Brands Partners with NVIDIA to Advance AI Technology in Restaurants
Louisville, KY – March 18, 2025 – Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) announced a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate the development of AI-driven innovations across its global restaurant network. This collaboration aims to enhance automation, customer service, and operational efficiency at KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and The Habit Burger Grill locations worldwide.

By leveraging NVIDIA's AI expertise, Yum! Brands intends to improve predictive analytics, drive-thru automation, digital ordering, and kitchen efficiency, streamlining restaurant operations and enhancing the customer experience.

The official press release regarding this partnership is included as Exhibit 99.1 in Yum! Brands' Form 8-K filing.

Yum! Brands hosted Taco Bell Consumer Day on March 4, 2025, providing an overview of its long-term strategy and recent performance updates. The company outlined growth targets for Taco Bell, including an 8% projected U.S. same-store sales increase for the first quarter of 2025, company restaurant margins of 24-25% for the year, and the addition of 100 net-new international units.

By 2030, Yum! Brands aims for Taco Bell to reach $3.0 million in annual unit volumes (AUVs) in the U.S., expand company restaurant margins to 25-26%, and establish 3,000 international locations. The company emphasized its focus on innovation and brand experience to drive growth.

Yum! Brands issued a press release on the event, which is available on its investor relations website. The company included standard forward-looking statements, cautioning that results could vary due to franchisee performance, global economic conditions, geopolitical risks, and the execution of its technology initiatives.

Yum! Brands, Inc. reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2024. Fourth-quarter GAAP EPS was $1.49, and EPS excluding Special Items was $1.61. For the full year, GAAP EPS was $5.22, and EPS excluding Special Items was $5.48, reflecting a 6% increase.

David Gibbs, CEO, highlighted the strong growth in core operating profits, with Taco Bell U.S. achieving 5% same-store sales growth in Q4 and KFC International adding over 2,000 net new units. Chris Turner, CFO, noted the opening of 4,535 new stores globally and the company’s digital progress, with digital sales up 15%. Yum! also launched Byte by Yum!, a proprietary AI-driven digital ecosystem to streamline operations across its restaurants.

In strategic news, Yum! promoted Scott Mezvinsky to KFC Division CEO, announced new concepts like Saucy by KFC and Taco Bell’s Live Más Cafe, and introduced a new Pizza Hut restaurant design.