YUM BRANDS INC 10-K

Item 1. Business. Yum! Brands, Inc. (referred to herein as “YUM”, the “Registrant” or the “Company”), was incorporated under the laws of the state of North Carolina in 1997. The principal executive offices of YUM are located at 1441 Gardiner Lane, Louisville, Kentucky 40213, and the telephone number at that location is (502) 874-8300. Our website address is https://www.yum.com . YUM, together with its subsidiaries, is referred to in this Form 10-K annual report (“Form 10-K”) as the Company. The terms “we,” “us” and “our” are also used in the Form 10-K to refer to the Company. Throughout this Form 10-K, the terms “restaurants,” “stores” and “units” are used interchangeably. While YUM does not directly own or operate any restaurants, throughout this document we may refer to restaurants that are owned or operated by our subsidiaries as being Company-owned. Overview of Business YUM has over 53,000 restaurants in 157 countries and territories primarily operating under the four concepts of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and The Habit Burger Grill (the “Concepts”). The Company’s KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut brands are global leaders of the chicken, Mexican-style food and pizza categories, respectively. The Habit Burger Grill, a concept we acquired in March 2020, is a fast-casual restaurant concept specializing in made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches and more. At December 31, 2021, 98% of our Concepts' units are operated by independent franchisees or licensees under the terms of franchise or license agreements. The terms franchise or franchisee within this Form 10-K are meant to describe third parties that operate units under either franchise or license agreements. The following is a summary of our Concepts’ operations and a brief description of each Concept as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021: Number of Units % of Units International Number of Countries and Territories % Franchised System Sales (a) (in Millions) KFC Division 26,934 85 % 149 99 % $ 31,365 Taco Bell Division 7,791 10 % 32 94 % 13,280 Pizza Hut Division 18,381 64 % 111 99 % 12,955 Habit Burger Grill Division 318 3 % 3 13 % 588 YUM 53,424 67 % 157 98 % $ 58,188 (a) Constitutes sales of all restaurants, both Company-owned and franchised. See further discussion of this performance metric within Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. KFC KFC was founded in Corbin, Kentucky, by Colonel Harland D. Sanders, an early developer of the quick service food business and a pioneer of the restaurant franchise concept. The Colonel perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices for Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1939 and signed up his first franchisee in 1952. KFC restaurants across the world offer fried and non-fried chicken products such as sandwiches, chicken strips, chicken-on-the-bone and other chicken products marketed under a variety of names. Taco Bell The first Taco Bell restaurant was opened in 1962 by Glen Bell in Downey, California, and in 1964, the first Taco Bell franchise was sold. Taco Bell specializes in Mexican-style food products, including various types of tacos, burritos, quesadillas, salads, nachos and other related items. Pizza Hut The first Pizza Hut restaurant was opened in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, and within a year, the first franchise unit was opened. Today, Pizza Hut is the largest restaurant chain in the world specializing in the sale of ready-to-eat pizza products. Pizza Hut operates in the delivery, carryout and casual dining segments around the world. 3 Habit Burger Grill The first Habit Burger Grill restaurant opened in 1969 in Santa Barbara, California. The Habit Burger Grill restaurant concept is built around a distinctive and diverse menu that includes chargrilled burgers and sandwiches made-to-order over an open flame and topped with fresh ingredients. Business Strategy Through our Recipe for Growth and Good we intend to unlock the growth potential of our Concepts and YUM, drive increased collaboration across our Concepts and geographies and consistently deliver better customer experiences, improved unit economics and higher rates of growth. Key enablers include accelerated use of technology and better leverage of our systemwide scale. Our Recipe for Growth is based on four key drivers: • Unrivaled Culture and Talent: Leverage our culture and people capability to fuel brand performance and franchise success • Unmatched Operating Capability: Recruit and equip the best restaurant operators in the world to deliver great customer experiences • Relevant, Easy and Distinctive Brands: Innovate and elevate iconic restaurant brands people trust and champion • Bold Restaurant Development: Drive market and franchise expansion with strong economics and value Our global citizenship and sustainability strategy, called the Recipe for Good, reflects our priorities for socially responsible growth, risk management and sustainable stewardship of our people, food and planet. Information about Operating Segments As of December 31, 2021, YUM consists of four operating segments: • The KFC Division which includes our worldwide operations of the KFC concept • The Taco Bell Division which includes our worldwide operations of the Taco Bell concept • The Pizza Hut Division which includes our worldwide operations of the Pizza Hut concept • The Habit Burger Grill Division which includes our worldwide operations of the Habit Burger Grill concept Franchise Agreements The franchise programs of the Company are designed to promote consistency and quality, and the Company is selective in granting franchises. The Company is focused on partnering with franchisees who have the commitment, capability and capitalization to grow our Concepts. Franchisees can range in size from individuals owning just one restaurant to large publicly-traded companies. The Company has franchise relationships that are particularly important to our business, such as our relationships with Yum China (defined below), and our strategic alliance with Food Delivery Brands Group, S.A. (previously named Telepizza Group S.A.), who is the master franchisee of Pizza Hut in Latin America (excluding Brazil) as well as portions of Europe and our relationships with certain other large franchisees. The Company has successfully increased franchise restaurant ownership in recent years, and currently has approximately 1,500 franchisees with whom we have franchise contracts. The Company utilizes both store-level franchise and master franchise programs to grow our businesses. Of our over 52,000 franchised units at December 31, 2021, approximately 30% operate under our master franchise programs, including nearly 10,800 units in mainland China. The remainder of our franchise units operate under store-level franchise agreements. Under both types of franchise programs, franchisees supply capital by purchasing or leasing the land, building, equipment, signs, seating, inventories and supplies and, over the longer term, by reinvesting in the business. In certain historical refranchising transactions the Company may have retained ownership of land and building and continues to lease them to the franchisee. Store-level franchise agreements typically require payment to the Company of certain upfront fees such as initial fees paid upon opening of a store, fees paid to renew the term of the franchise agreement and fees paid in the event the franchise agreement is transferred to another franchisee. Franchisees also pay monthly continuing fees based on a percentage of their restaurants’ sales (typically between 4% to 6%) and are required to spend a certain amount to advertise and promote the brand. Under master franchise arrangements, the Company enters into agreements that allow master franchisees to operate restaurants as well as sub-franchise restaurants within certain geographic territories. Master franchisees are typically responsible for overseeing development within their territories and performing certain other administrative duties 4 with regard to the oversight of sub-franchisees. In exchange, master franchisees retain a certain percentage of fees payable by the sub-franchisees under their franchise agreements and typically pay lower fees for the restaurants they operate. On October 31, 2016, we completed the spin-off of our China business into an independent, publicly-traded company under the name of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (“Yum China”). As our largest master franchisee, Yum China, pays the Company a continuing fee of 3% on system sales of our Concepts in mainland China. The use by Yum China of certain of our material trademarks and service marks is governed by a master license agreement between Yum Restaurants Consulting (Shanghai) Company Limited (“YCCL”), a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Yum China, and YUM, through YRI China Franchising LLC, a subsidiary of YUM. The Company seeks to maintain strong and open relationships with our franchisees and their representatives. To this end, the Company invests a significant amount of time working with the franchisee community and their representative organizations on key aspects of the business, including products, equipment, operational improvements and standards. Restaurant Operations Through its Concepts, YUM develops, operates and franchises a worldwide system of both traditional and non-traditional Quick Service Restaurants (“QSR”). Traditional units can feature dine-in, carryout, drive-thru and delivery services. Non-traditional units include express units that have a more limited menu, usually generate lower sales volumes and operate in non-traditional locations like malls, airports, gasoline service stations, train stations, subways, convenience stores, stadiums, amusement parks and colleges, where a full-scale traditional outlet would not be practical or efficient. Most restaurants in each Concept offer consumers the ability to dine in, carryout food and/or have the Concepts' food delivered either through store-level or third-party delivery services. In addition, Taco Bell and KFC offer a drive-thru option in many stores. Pizza Hut and Habit Burger Grill offer a drive-thru option on a much more limited basis. Restaurant management structure varies by Concept and unit size. Generally, each restaurant is led by a restaurant general manager (“RGM”), together with one or more assistant managers, depending on the operating complexity and sales volume of the restaurant. Each Concept issues detailed manuals, which may then be customized to meet local regulations and customs. These manuals set forth standards and requirements for all aspects of restaurant operations, including food safety and quality, food handling and product preparation procedures, equipment maintenance, facility standards and accounting control procedures. The restaurant management teams are responsible for the day-to-day operation of each unit and for ensuring compliance with operating standards. CHAMPS – which stands for Cleanliness, Hospitality, Accuracy, Maintenance, Product Quality and Speed of Service – is our proprietary systemwide program for training, measuring and rewarding employee performance against key customer measures. CHAMPS is intended to align the operating processes of our entire system around one core set of standards. RGMs’ efforts, including CHAMPS performance measures, are monitored by Area Coaches, where sufficient scale allows. Area Coaches typically work with approximately six to twelve restaurants. Our restaurant operations and results were significantly impacted by a novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, beginning in 2020 and continuing into 2021. As COVID-19 spread throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world, governmental authorities implemented measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These measures include restrictions on travel outside the home and have other limitations on business and other activities as well as encouraging social distancing. As a result of COVID-19, we and our franchisees have experienced significant store closures and instances of reduced store-level operations, including reduced operating hours and dining-room closures. We and our franchisees have also experienced interruptions of food and other supplies as well as labor shortages that have impacted restaurant operations. The impact on our sales in each of our markets has been dependent on the timing, severity and duration of the outbreak, measures implemented by government authorities to reduce the spread of COVID-19, as well as our reliance on dine-in sales in the market. In response, we accelerated our deployment of digital and technology initiatives to enhance the customer experience and our off-premise capabilities. This included increasing our focus on driving digital sales where customers utilize ordering interaction that is primarily facilitated by automated technology. For our restaurants that prominently feature drive-thru, carryout and delivery options, COVID-19 has in many cases contributed to an increase in sales during 2020 and 2021. In 2021, our system restaurants generated digital sales of $22 billion, which represented an approximate 25% increase over 2020. Additionally, the number of restaurants that now offer delivery increased to over 45,000 restaurants, which represents over 85% of our global system, more than a 25% increase over 2020. 5 Supply and Distribution The Company and franchisees of the Concepts are substantial purchasers of a number of food and paper products, equipment and other restaurant supplies. The principal items purchased include chicken, cheese, beef and pork products, paper and packaging materials. Prices paid for these supplies fluctuate. When prices increase, the Concepts may attempt to pass on such increases to their customers, although there is no assurance that this can be done in practice. The Company does not typically experience significant continuous shortages of supplies, and alternative sources for most of these supplies are generally available. In the U.S., the Company, along with the representatives of the Company’s KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut franchisee groups, are members of Restaurant Supply Chain Solutions, LLC (“RSCS”), a third party which is responsible for purchasing certain restaurant products and equipment. Additionally, The Habit Burger Grill entered into a purchasing agreement with RSCS effective July 31, 2020. The core mission of RSCS is to provide the lowest possible sustainable store-delivered prices for restaurant products and equipment. This arrangement combines the purchasing power of the Company-owned and franchisee restaurants, which the Company believes leverages the system’s scale to drive cost savings and effectiveness in the purchasing function. The Company also believes that RSCS fosters closer alignment of interests and a stronger relationship with our franchisee community. Most food products, paper and packaging supplies, and equipment used in restaurant operations are distributed to individual restaurant units by third-party distribution companies. In the U.S., McLane Foodservice, Inc. is the exclusive distributor for the majority of items used in Company-owned restaurants and for a substantial number of franchisee restaurants. Outside the U.S., we and our Concepts’ franchisees primarily use decentralized sourcing and distribution systems involving many different global, regional and local suppliers and distributors. Our international franchisees generally select and manage their own third-party suppliers and distributors, subject to our internal standards. All suppliers and distributors are expected to provide products and/or services that comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations in the state and/or country in which they operate as well as comply with our internal standards. Advertising and Promotional Programs Company-owned and franchise restaurants are required to spend a percentage of their respective restaurants’ sales on advertising programs with the goal of increasing sales and enhancing the reputation of the Concepts. Advertising may be conducted nationally, regionally and locally. When multiple franchisees operate in the same country or region, the national and regional advertising spending is typically conducted by a cooperative to which the franchisees and Company-owned restaurants, if any, contribute funds as a percentage of restaurants’ sales. The contributions are primarily used to pay for expenses relating to purchasing media for advertising, market research, commercial production, talent payments and other support functions for the respective Concepts. We have the right to control the advertising activities of certain advertising cooperatives, typically in markets where we have Company-owned restaurants, through our majority voting rights. Trademarks and Patents The Company and its Concepts own numerous registered trademarks and service marks. The Company believes that many of these marks, including our Kentucky Fried Chicken®, KFC®, Taco Bell®, Pizza Hut® and The Habit® marks, have significant value and material importance to our business. The Company’s policy is to pursue registration of important marks whenever feasible and to oppose vigorously any infringement of our marks. The use of certain of these marks by franchisees has been authorized in our franchise agreements. Under current law and with proper use, the Company’s rights in our marks can generally last indefinitely. The Company also has certain patents on restaurant equipment which, while valuable, are not currently considered material to our business. Working Capital Information about the Company’s working capital is included in MD&A in Part II, Item 7 and the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows in Part II, Item 8. Seasonal Operations The Company does not consider its operations to be seasonal to any material degree. 6 Competition The retail food industry, in which our Concepts compete, is made up of supermarkets, supercenters, warehouse stores, convenience stores, coffee shops, snack bars, delicatessens and restaurants (including those in the QSR segment), and is intensely competitive with respect to price and quality of food products, new product development, digital engagement, advertising levels and promotional initiatives, customer service reputation, restaurant location and attractiveness and maintenance of properties. Competition has also increased from and been enabled by delivery aggregators and other food delivery services in recent years, particularly in urbanized areas, which trend has accelerated following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Concepts also face competition as a result of convergence in grocery, convenience, deli and restaurant services, including the offering by the grocery industry of convenient meals, including pizzas and entrees with side dishes. The retail food industry is often affected by: changes in consumer tastes; national, regional or local economic conditions; currency fluctuations; demographic trends; traffic patterns; the type, number and location of competing food retailers and products; and disposable purchasing power. Within the retail food industry, each of our Concepts competes with international, national and regional chains as well as locally-owned establishments, not only for customers, but also for management and hourly personnel, suitable real estate sites and qualified franchisees. Given the various types and vast number of competitors, our Concepts do not constitute a significant portion of the retail food industry in terms of number of system units or system sales, either on a worldwide or individual country basis. Environmental Matters The Company is not aware of any federal, state or local environmental laws or regulations that will materially affect our earnings or competitive position, or result in material capital expenditures. However, the Company cannot predict the effect on our operations due to possible future environmental legislation or regulations. During 2021, there were no material capital expenditures for environmental control facilities and no such material expenditures are anticipated. Government Regulation U.S. Operations. The Company and its U.S. operations, as well as our franchisees, are subject to various federal, state and local laws affecting our business, including laws and regulations concerning information security, privacy, labor and employment, health, marketing, food labeling, competition, public accommodation, sanitation and safety. Each of our and our Concepts’ franchisees’ restaurants in the U.S. must comply with licensing requirements and regulations promulgated by a number of governmental authorities, which include health, sanitation, safety, fire and zoning agencies in the state and/or municipality in which the restaurant is located. In addition, each Concept must comply with various state and federal laws that regulate the franchisor/franchisee relationship. To date, the Company has not been materially adversely affected by such licensing requirements and regulations or by any difficulty, delay or failure to obtain required licenses or approvals. International Operations . Our and our Concepts’ franchisees’ restaurants outside the U.S. are subject to national and local laws and regulations which have similarities to those affecting U.S. restaurants but may differ among jurisdictions. The restaurants outside the U.S. are also subject to tariffs and regulations on imported commodities and equipment, laws regulating foreign investment and anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws. See Item 1A “Risk Factors” of this Form 10-K for a discussion of risks relating to federal, state, local and international regulation of our business. Human Capital Management Overview As of December 31, 2021, the Company and its subsidiaries employed approximately 36,000 persons, including approximately 23,000 employees in the U.S. and approximately 13,000 employees outside the U.S. Approximately 90% and 85% of our U.S. and international employees, respectively, work in restaurants while the remainder work in our restaurant-support centers. In the U.S., approximately 90% of our Company-owned restaurant employees are part-time and approximately 50% have been employed by the Company for less than a year. Some of our International employees are subject to labor council relationships whose terms vary due to the diverse countries in which the Company operates. In addition to the persons employed by the Company and its subsidiaries, our approximately 52,000 franchise restaurants around the world are responsible for the employment of over an estimated 1 million people who work in and support those restaurants. Each year YUM and our franchisees around the world create thousands of restaurant jobs, which are part-time, entry-level opportunities to grow careers at our KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and The Habit Burger Grill brands. As evidence of 7 the opportunities these positions create, approximately 80% of our Company-owned Restaurant General Managers (“RGMs”) located in the U.S. have been promoted from other positions in our restaurants and such RGMs often earn competitive pay greater than the average American household income. Human capital management considerations are integral to our Recipe for Growth and Good strategy, the drivers of which include leveraging our culture and people capability to fuel brand performance and franchise success, as well as recruiting and equipping the best restaurant operators in the world to deliver great customer experiences. Our investment in people includes creating a culture of engagement that attracts, retains and grows the best people and creates high performance in our restaurants. We are also highly focused on building an inclusive culture among our employees, franchisees, suppliers and partners to reflect the diversity of our customers and communities. Our commitments and progress towards executing this strategy are reflected below. Culture & Talent We believe that our culture and talent provide us with a competitive advantage with respect to the performance of our business. Our areas of focus in this regard include the following: • Measuring YUM employee engagement regularly. For example, every other year we conduct a global employee engagement survey of all employees working in our restaurant support centers. The most recent survey conducted was in 2021 and reflected an engagement level among our employees significantly exceeding the average engagement levels of benchmarked companies. • Providing YUM employees with training and development that builds world-class leaders and drives business results. We promote these efforts through initiatives such as our leadership development program (Heartstyles), our unconscious bias program (Inclusive Leadership) and training programs with respect to our compliance polices, including our Code of Conduct. Our Heartstyles program is also available to our franchisees so that their employees may benefit as well. • Enabling a culture that fuels results and cross-brand collaboration on operational execution, people capability and customer experience initiatives throughout our system. • Assessing progress towards lowering turnover and increasing retention rates, particularly at the restaurant-employee level. Equity, Inclusion & Belonging In connection with our focus on equity, inclusion and belonging, our areas of focus include the following: • Continually building upon ongoing inclusion efforts to help ensure our workplaces are environments where all people can be successful. • Significantly increasing the number of women in our senior leadership globally, with a goal of achieving gender parity by 2030. In 2020, approximately 45% of our global leadership roles were held by women and approximately 55% of our global above-restaurant workforce were women. • Increasing representation of Black and Latinx U.S. associates among our executive and management ranks, franchisees and suppliers over the next 10 years to match the combined demographics of those groups within the U.S. We intend to further this goal through an increased focus on coaching capability, sponsorship programs and customized individual development plans. Moreover, we have joined We Are All Human's Hispanic Promise, a national pledge to hire, promote, retain and celebrate Hispanics in the workplace. We also plan to enhance our relationship with the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management, which brings outstanding underrepresented talent of color and companies like YUM together to fill critical organizational roles. • Continuing to roll out Inclusive Leadership training and anti-racism training across our system. We intend to expand our Inclusive Leadership training to employees and franchisees around the world and have started development of an online module of this training program to help provide even greater access. 8 Available Information The Company makes available, through the Investor Relations section of its internet website at https://www.yum.com, its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such material with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) at https://www.sec.gov . Our Corporate Governance Principles and our Code of Conduct are also located within the Investor Relations section of the Company's website. The references to the Company’s website address in this Form 10-K do not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on the website and should not be considered part of this Form 10-K. These documents, as well as our SEC filings, are available in print free of charge to any shareholder who requests a copy from our Investor Relations Department.