Forensic Analysis · Retail / Consumer Discretionary · as of Aug 9, 2026

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (YUMC)

A forensic read on Yum China Holdings, Inc. built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

A · High-quality compounder

Forensic grade

Safe

Financial health

5.2

Distress distance

Clean

Earnings quality

Forensic signals

17.5

P / E (ttm)

17.3%

ROE

$16.8B

Market cap

2.01%

Dividend yield

4.4%

Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (red flags, auditor quality, say on pay, board independence). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. earns an A (High-quality compounder) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 5.2, placing it in the Safe zone. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by shareholder returns.

What the filings flag

178% of FCF

FY2025

Shareholder returns. Returned $1.5B to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 178% of free cash flow. More than free cash flow generated — and beyond operating cash too, so the extra is coming from debt or cash reserves, which isn't sustainable indefinitely. Counting the $42M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 183%.

11.7%

FY2025

Return on invested capital. Return on invested capital is 11.7% in the latest fiscal year and rising from 5% — a modest positive spread over its ~9% cost of capital — growth adds value, though not dramatically.

$9M

FY2019–FY2019

Goodwill impairments. Took $9M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year (FY2019 ($9M)) — about 1% of net income over the span. Writedowns mean past acquisitions underperformed what was paid for them.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$11.80B

Revenue Growth YoY+4.4%

Revenue CAGR (3yr)+7.2%

Net Margin7.9%

Free Cash Flow$840.0M

Return on Equity17.3%

Debt / Equity0.01x

The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. Want the AI investment read on top — the 0–100 rating, thesis, bull-vs-bear, red flags and the 12-month scenario, written from Yum China Holdings, Inc.'s actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?

Generate the AI investment read →

No credit card · informational only, not investment advice · see the track record

← Browse all forensic stock analyses

Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Aug 9, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.