Yum Brands said it will close about 250 Pizza Hut restaurants in the United States in the first half of 2026, stepping up pressure on the brand’s underperforming units as the parent company reviews its options for Pizza Hut. The company also said it is targeting Pizza Hut locations in its system that are not meeting performance expectations.
In a statement Wednesday, Yum Brands tied the planned U.S. closures to efforts to improve results at Pizza Hut restaurants, which it said have struggled amid outdated stores and growing competition. Yum said Pizza Hut’s U.S. same-store sales, meaning sales at locations open at least a year, fell 5% last year.
Yum provided context by comparing Pizza Hut’s U.S. performance with Domino’s. The pizza chain competition has intensified in the United States, and Yum said Domino’s U.S. same-store sales were up 2.7% in the first nine months of last year, though Domino’s had not yet released its full-year earnings.
Yum also said Pizza Hut’s results have been stronger outside the United States, with international same-store sales increasing 1% last year. The company said growth in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America contributed to that performance, and it said China is Pizza Hut’s second-largest market outside the U.S., accounting for 19% of sales.
The planned changes come as Yum continues a separate process that began with a decision announced in November. Yum said it was conducting a formal review of options for Pizza Hut, and Yum CEO Chris Turner said Wednesday that the company plans to complete its review this year while declining to share additional updates on the process.
Yum said Pizza Hut ended 2025 with 19,974 stores globally, which was 251 fewer than the previous year. The company said Pizza Hut opened nearly 1,200 stores across 65 countries last year, but closures outpaced openings, and it said it plans more global openings in 2026 without providing details.