Yum Brands Jumps 8.4% in 5 Days as S&P 500 Slips 1.2%
Updated
Updated · Trefis · Aug 25
Yum Brands Jumps 8.4% in 5 Days as S&P 500 Slips 1.2%
1 articles · Updated · Trefis · Aug 25
Summary
Yum Brands gained 8.4% over the past five trading days, standing out in a falling market and reinforcing its recent pattern of moving differently from the broader index.
Over the past year, YUM has shown counter-cyclical daily trading—falling about 8% of the market’s gain on up days and rising about 23% of the market’s loss on down days.
That divergence sits on top of a moderate five-year 0.43 correlation with the S&P 500, suggesting the stock can add diversification rather than simply mirror an index fund.
The business backdrop is mixed: Yum has a 30% operating margin and is narrowing its focus after a $1.2 billion Pizza Hut China sale, but Taco Bell U.S. same-store sales are down 2% quarter-to-date after an industry-wide food safety issue.
Management says Taco Bell trends are steadily improving, making the pace of that recovery the key test for whether Yum’s recent market resilience can hold.