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- Yum Brands CEO Chris Turner said selling Pizza Hut will allow the company to focus more heavily on Taco Bell and KFC, which he thinks offer significant long-term growth opportunities.
- He highlighted Taco Bell’s strong momentum and international expansion potential, while describing KFC as a global powerhouse that continues to add new restaurants around the world.
Yum Brands CEO Chris Turner said selling Pizza Hut will allow the restaurant giant to concentrate its resources on what it sees as its largest growth opportunities: Taco Bell and KFC.
“This positions Pizza Hut for even greater growth going forward, and for Yum, it allows us to focus even more on those three brands,” Turner said on CNBC’s “Mad Money” on Tuesday. “Of course, the two biggest there are Taco Bell and KFC. They have incredible white space opportunities in front of them.”
On Tuesday, the parent company behind Taco Bell, KFC, and Habit Burger & Grill announced plans to sell Pizza Hut to private equity firm LongRange Capital for roughly $1.5 billion, while Yum China will acquire the brand’s mainland China business for approximately $1.2 billion.
Turner, who took over as CEO in October 2025, said the move will sharpen Yum’s focus on expanding its remaining brands, particularly Taco Bell and KFC, while allowing Pizza Hut to pursue its own growth strategy under new ownership.
“We’re talking about raising the bar, battling for the future consumer, accelerating restaurant economics, and reaching the full potential of bite in our technology ecosystem,” he said. “If we can do that with even more focus on those brands, we’re going to accelerate growth in a huge way.”
Taco Bell remains one of the company’s strongest growth drivers. Turner noted that the chain has generated 18% same-store sales growth on a two year basis, significantly outpacing much of the restaurant industry.
“Taco Bell’s magic formula is working and delivering what consumers need in this environment,” he said.
The CEO also highlighted the brand’s international potential. Taco Bell currently operates about 1,200 restaurants outside the United States, but Turner thinks that figure can grow substantially over time.
“There should be thousands and thousands and thousands of Taco Bells around the globe someday,” he said.
KFC represents another major opportunity, according to Turner. He described the fried chicken chain as a “powerhouse” brand with roughly 34,000 restaurants worldwide and strong momentum across international markets.
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