Pizza Hut parent company Yum Brands said in an earnings call Wednesday that 250 of the chain’s U.S. stores will close.
“In the first half [of 2026], in the U.S., we expect approximately 250 targeted closures of underperforming units tied to the Hut Forward program,” said Yum Brands Chief Financial Officer Ranjith Roy, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha.
Mr. Roy did not provide specifics on where the underperforming stores are located. Shuttering 250 Pizza Hut locations would account for about 4% of the chain’s current U.S. stores, according to Restaurant Dive.
In addition to the closures, the “Hut Forward” program looks to update the marketing of Pizza Hut and the technology used in its stores, Mr. Roy said on the earnings call for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025.
In a separate earnings release, Yum Brands said that its Pizza Hut division saw sales drop by 5% in the fourth quarter and by 3% year-over-year, and saw franchise and property revenue drop by 6% in the fourth quarter and 3% year-over-year.
The U.S. portion of the Pizza Hut division makes up 40% of all Pizza Hut system sales, but sales growth in the American market dropped by 6% in the fourth quarter and 7% year-over-year, per the Yum Brands release. Same-store sales for U.S. Pizza Huts dropped by 3% in the fourth quarter, and 5% year-over-year.
Yum Brands previously announced a strategic review of Pizza Hut in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, including a possible sell-off.
“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 CEO Christopher Turner in November, according to The Associated Press.
