Pizza Hut to close around 250 locations

Pizza Hut will close about 250 locations in the U.S. through June as its parent company, Yum! Brands, moves to shut underperforming stores and reassess the brand’s long-term strategy, executives said.

Yum! Brands Chief Financial Officer Ranjith Roy said during an earnings call that the closures will primarily target weaker-performing Pizza Hut restaurants as part of a broader effort to modernize the chain.

The closures are tied to the company's "Hut Forward" initiative aimed at refreshing Pizza Hut’s marketing, updating its restaurant model and improving franchise performance. Yum! said it is also reviewing broader strategic options for Pizza Hut, signaling the changes could be part of a deeper reset for the brand.

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The pullback comes as Pizza Hut continues to struggle in the U.S., even as other Yum! Brands post strong results. Pizza Hut’s domestic same-store sales declined, while Taco Bell and KFC delivered solid growth and expanded their footprints.

Despite the U.S. closures, Yum! said that Pizza Hut is still growing internationally. The chain opened more than 440 gross new locations globally in the fourth quarter and nearly 1,200 restaurants in 2025 across 65 countries.

Yum! said the closures will be concentrated in the first half of the year, temporarily reducing Pizza Hut’s global store count before growth resumes later in 2026.

"To help set expectations on key Pizza Hut business metrics for 2026, from a unit standpoint, we expect strong gross openings globally, which are seasonally weighted toward the back half of the year," Roy said.

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The moves come as Yum! reported strong earnings and raised its dividend, underscoring that the Pizza Hut closures reflect brand-specific challenges rather than broader weakness at the company.