Key facts
- Taco Bell same-store sales fell 4% in the third quarter, missing analysts' expectations of a 0.9% drop compiled by LSEG.
- Weekly foot traffic at Taco Bell outlets fell 20% at the outbreak's peak in early July, per Placer.ai.
- US health authorities declared the cyclosporiasis outbreak over in October 2026; it caused 570 hospitalizations and two deaths.
- Yum Brands' overall same-store sales were flat, short of analysts' estimates of a 0.9% rise.
- KFC same-store sales rose 1%, below expectations of a 2.1% rise.
- Yum's operating profit rose to $2.32 billion from $666 million, including a $1.68 billion Pizza Hut divestiture gain.
Yum Brands said on November 3, 2026 that same-store sales at its Taco Bell business fell 4% in the third quarter, a wider decline than the 0.9% drop analysts had expected, according to data compiled by LSEG. The company attributed the result to a multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak in the US during the quarter that made customers wary of dining at the Tex-Mex chain.
Weekly foot traffic at Taco Bell outlets fell 20% at the peak of the outbreak in early July, according to data firm Placer.ai. US health authorities declared the outbreak over in October 2026; it resulted in 570 hospitalizations and two deaths.
CEO Chris Turner said Taco Bell U.S. has been outpacing the quick service restaurant industry on same-store sales growth since the end of September. Fast food chains are also competing for customers as higher living costs push budget-conscious consumers toward cheaper home-cooked meals, while higher earners turn to fine dining, the company said.
At the group level, Yum Brands' same-store sales were flat compared with a year earlier, short of analysts' estimates of a 0.9% rise. Same-store sales at KFC, the biggest Yum unit, rose 1% against expectations of a 2.1% rise.
Yum's operating profit for the quarter grew to $2.32 billion from $666 million a year earlier, helped by a $1.68 billion gain from the divestiture of its Pizza Hut chain in a $2.7 billion deal earlier in 2026.