Pizza Hut closing hundreds of locations around the U.S.

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Another major restaurant chain is shrinking in parts of the U.S.Pizza Hut’s parent company Yum! Brands plans to close 250 U.S.locations, or about 3% of its nationwide retail footprint, in the first half of 2026.Yum! Chief Financial Officer Ranjith Roy said on a Wednesday earnings call that the “targeted closures of underperforming units” are a part of what the company has dubbed its “Hut Forward” strategy — which also calls for more marketing support and an update of the chain’s technology and franchise agreements.There are about 20,000 Pizza Hut locations worldwide, with roughly 6,400 in the U.S., according to the company’s November Securities and Exchange Commission filing.Yum! didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The company has not yet said which stores it plans to close.Employees at five Pizza Hut locations across Los Angeles County said they did not know if their stores would be affected.

In November, Yum! said in a statement it was launching a “review of strategic options” for the Pizza Hut brand and hinted that it was considering a sale.“Pizza Hut’s performance indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realize its full value, which may be better executed outside of Yum! Brands,” Chris Turner, the company’s chief executive, said in the statement.“To truly take advantage of the brand we’ve built and the opportunities ahead, we’ve made the decision to initiate a thorough review of strategic options.”In addition to Pizza Hut, Yum! Brands owns Kentucky Fried Chicken; Taco Bell, founded in 1962 in Downey; and Habit Burger & Grill, founded in 1969 in Santa Barbara.As of November, the company owned more than 62,000 restaurants across more than 155 countries and territories, and 98% were owned and operated by franchisees, according to its SEC filing.Yum! shares have risen by more than 20% in the last year.For it...