Topic: Growth Stocks

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, October 9, 2015

Article Excerpt

YUM! BRANDS INC., $70.28, New York symbol YUM, fell 14% this week after reporting lower-than-expected quarterly results. The company also cut its full-year forecast due to slow sales in China following last year’s food-safety problems at its KFC outlets. In the three months ended September 5, 2015, Yum earned $421 million, up 4.2% from $404 million a year earlier. Per-share profits gained 6.7%, to $0.95 from $0.89, on fewer shares outstanding. Without unusual items, including a writedown of its Mexican real estate holdings, Yum earned $1.00 a share in the latest quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07. Sales rose 2.2%, to $3.43 billion from $3.35 billion, but that also fell short of the consensus forecast of $3.68 billion. China accounted for 57% of Yum’s total sales in the latest quarter, and same-store sales there rose 2%, well below the consensus forecast of a 9% gain. Excluding China, same-store sales rose 4% at Taco Bell, 3% at KFC and 1% at…