Yum China Announces US$460 Million Share Repurchase Agreements for First Half of 2026 as Part of US$1.5 Billion Full-Year Capital Return Plan
December 12 2025 - 5:20AM PR Newswire (US)
SHANGHAI, Dec. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "Yum China") (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987) announced that it has entered into share repurchase agreements in the U.S. and Hong Kong for an aggregate repurchase amount of approximately US$460 million for the first half of 2026, commencing on January 12, 2026.
The share repurchase agreements include approximately US$350 million under the Rule 10b5-1 of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in the U.S. and approximately HK$880 million for a similar program in Hong Kong. These agreements are one component of the share repurchase program, and part of the broader plan to return US$1.5 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in 2026. This annual amount of capital return is equivalent to around 9% of our market capitalization as of December 11, 2025.
"Yum China is committed to maintaining a dual focus: investing to drive business growth and delivering favorable capital returns to shareholders. Supported by a healthy cash position and strong cash-generation capabilities, we are on track to return US$4.5 billion to shareholders from 2024 through 2026. Starting in 2027, as outlined at our 2025 Investor Day, we plan to return approximately 100% of annual free cash flow after subsidiaries' dividend payments to non-controlling interests," said Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China.
The average annual return in 2027 and 2028 is expected to be approximately US$900 million to over US$1 billion, and to exceed US$1 billion in 2028, through steadily increasing dividend per share over time and value-enhancing share repurchases.
Since 2017, Yum China has returned US$5.8 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
About Yum China Holdings, Inc.
Yum China is the largest restaurant company in China with a mission to make every life taste beautiful. The Company operates over 17,000 restaurants under six brands across over 2,500 cities in China. KFC and Pizza Hut are the leading brands in the quick-service and casual dining restaurant spaces in China, respectively. In addition, Yum China has partnered with Lavazza to develop the Lavazza coffee concept in China. Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang specialize in Chinese cuisine. Taco Bell offers innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China has a world-class, digitalized supply chain, which includes an extensive network of logistics centers nationwide and an in-house supply chain management system. Its strong digital capabilities and loyalty program enable the Company to reach customers faster and serve them better. Yum China is a Fortune 500 company with the vision to be the world's most innovative pioneer in the restaurant industry. For more information, please visit https://ir.yumchina.com/.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
