YUMC vs SBUX Stock Comparison

Yum China Holdings and Starbucks Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
YUMC Yum China Holdings, Inc.
$45.54 +12.5% 1M +1.7% 1Y
Market cap
$15.75B
P/E
16.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.44B
Div. yield
0.02%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
7 wins
SBUX Starbucks Corp
$102.69 +8.3% 1M +19.3% 1Y
Market cap
$116.58B
P/E
58.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.34B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Yum China Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Yum China Holdings 7, Starbucks 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionYUMCSBUXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $15.75B $116.58B SBUX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.2x 58.8x YUMC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.0x 41.7x YUMC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.8% +4.5% YUMC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.8% 5.2% YUMC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.5% 31.4% SBUX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.7x 2.1x YUMC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.7% +19.3% SBUX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.9%/yr -2.0%/yr SBUX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 27.6% YUMC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 75/100 34/100 YUMC

Percentile Scorecard

YUMCSBUX

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisYUMCSBUX
Valuation 78 #12 of 50 6 #47 of 50
Growth 50 #24 of 47 17 #39 of 47
Profitability 64 #17 of 46 69 #15 of 46
Financial Health 88 #7 of 51 42 #30 of 51
Shareholder Returns 94 #3 of 33 34 #22 of 33
Overall 75 34
  • YUMC ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • SBUX ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodYUMCSBUXSPY
1 month +12.5%+8.3% -0.8%
3 months +1.8%-0.9% +3.5%
6 months -4.6%+4.9% +7.0%
Year to date -4.6%+21.9% +12.2%
1 year +1.7%+19.3% +13.0%
3 years -13.3%+11.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year -4.6%+3.7% +23.1%
5 years -22.3%-9.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year -4.9%-2.0% +11.0%
10 years +84.0%+91.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.3%+6.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureYUMCSBUXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%27.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.2%25.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.270.53 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.060.70 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.6%-40.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.4%-5.4% -1.8%
52-week high $57.95$108.55 $779.14
52-week low $39.98$79.60 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleYUMCSBUX
P/E now vs peer median 16.3xmedian 20.5x 59.0xmedian 20.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.1x 3.1xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 13.3x 27.3xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.7xmedian 17.5x 32.1xmedian 17.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 3.1x -15.3xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.98median 1.07 -3.07median 1.07

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsYUMCSBUX
Revenue $12.44B $38.34B
Gross profit $2.14B –
Operating income $1.38B $2.98B
Net income $1.05B $1.98B
Free cash flow $940.00M $3.64B
EPS (diluted) $2.79 $1.73
Cash & equivalents $485.00M $3.45B
Total debt $66.00M $13.28B
Shares (diluted) 349.00M 1.14B
Enterprise value $9.41B $104.20B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricYUMCSBUX
P/E 16.3x 59.0x
P/FCF 16.7x 32.1x
P/Operating cash flow 10.0x 23.5x
P/S 1.3x 3.1x
P/B 2.6x -15.3x
P/Tangible book 2.7x -14.9x
EV/EBITDA 7.8x 27.3x
EV/EBIT 10.4x 42.6x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 3.3x
EV/FCF 15.3x 34.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.1x 25.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.98 -3.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricYUMCSBUX
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.8% 4.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 3.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.8% -24.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 10.3% -17.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 6.3% -24.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% -19.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.7% -24.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 16.5% -19.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.6% 1.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.0% -1.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.7% 61.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.0% 6.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricYUMCSBUX
Gross margin 17.2% –
EBITDA margin 14.9% 12.1%
Operating margin 11.1% 7.8%
Pretax margin 11.5% 8.0%
Net margin 7.8% 5.2%
FCF margin 7.6% 9.5%
Operating cash flow margin 12.7% 13.0%
Return on equity 17.3% –
Return on assets 9.7% 6.7%
Return on invested capital 16.5% 31.4%
Return on capital employed 16.4% 15.3%
Asset turnover 1.1x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricYUMCSBUX
Debt / assets 0.6% 46.9%
Debt / equity 0.0x -1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.7x 2.1x
Debt / FCF 0.1x 3.6x
Liabilities / assets 44.2% 127.1%
Equity / assets 55.8% -27.1%
Interest coverage – 5.4x
Current ratio 1.0x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.73 3.13

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricYUMCSBUX
Dividend yield 2.4% 2.4%
Net buyback yield 8.3% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 10.7% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 35.7% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 40.0% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 24.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 21.6% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusYUMCSBUX
Forward P/E 15.0xFY2026 41.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.04FY2026 $2.46FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +21.1%FY2026 +15.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.5% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $12.37BFY2026 $35.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.8%FY2026 -4.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.3% +5.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersYUMCSBUX
Held by institutions – 85.6%
Institutions holding – 2,399
Change in shares held, QoQ – +4.9%
Institutions buying – 1,096
Institutions selling – 991
Buyers to sellers – 1.11

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

YUMCSBUX
YUMC 1.00 0.26
SBUX 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, YUMC and SBUX?

Starbucks (SBUX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Yum China Holdings (YUMC) $15.75B, Starbucks (SBUX) $116.58B.

Which stock is cheaper, YUMC and SBUX?

Yum China Holdings (YUMC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 16.2x, Starbucks (SBUX) 58.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) is cheapest (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 15.0x, Starbucks (SBUX) 41.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Yum China Holdings (YUMC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Yum China Holdings (YUMC) +8.8%, Starbucks (SBUX) +4.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Yum China Holdings (YUMC) has the highest net margin (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 7.8%, Starbucks (SBUX) 5.2%). On return on invested capital, Starbucks (SBUX) leads (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 16.5%, Starbucks (SBUX) 31.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Starbucks (SBUX) returned the most: Yum China Holdings (YUMC) +1.7%, Starbucks (SBUX) +19.3%. Over five years, Starbucks (SBUX) compounded fastest (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) -4.9%/yr, Starbucks (SBUX) -2.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 0.02%, Starbucks (SBUX) 0.00%. Starbucks (SBUX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) has been the steadiest (Yum China Holdings (YUMC) 25.6%, Starbucks (SBUX) 27.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do YUMC and SBUX move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.26, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, YUMC and SBUX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Yum China Holdings (YUMC) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.