Description of Business

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Description of Business

Description of Business

YUM! Brands, Inc. and Subsidiaries (collectively referred to as “YUM” or the “Company”) comprises the worldwide operations of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (collectively the “Concepts”).  YUM is the world’s largest quick service restaurant company based on the number of system units, with approximately 37,000 units of which approximately 50% are located outside the U.S. in more than 120 countries and territories.  YUM was created as an independent, publicly-owned company on October 6, 1997 via a tax-free distribution by our former parent, PepsiCo, Inc., of our Common Stock to its shareholders.  References to YUM throughout these Consolidated Financial Statements are made using the first person notations of “we,” “us” or “our.”

Through our widely-recognized Concepts, we develop, operate, franchise and license a system of both traditional and non-traditional quick service restaurants.  Each Concept has proprietary menu items and emphasizes the preparation of food with high quality ingredients as well as unique recipes and special seasonings to provide appealing, tasty and attractive food at competitive prices.  Our traditional restaurants feature dine-in, carryout and, in some instances, drive-thru or delivery service.  Non-traditional units, which are principally licensed outlets, include express units and kiosks which have a more limited menu 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.  We also operate multibrand units, where two or more of our Concepts are operated in a single unit.  

YUM consists of five operating segments:  YUM Restaurants China ("China" or “China Division”), YUM Restaurants International (“YRI” or “International Division”), KFC U.S., Pizza Hut U.S., and Taco Bell U.S.  The China Division includes mainland China, and the International Division includes the remainder of our international operations. For financial reporting purposes, management considers the three U.S. operating segments to be similar and, therefore, has aggregated them into a single reportable operating segment (“U.S.”).  In December 2011 we sold our Long John Silver's ("LJS") and A&W All American Food Restaurants ("A&W") brands to key franchise leaders and strategic investors in separate transactions. The results for these businesses through the sale date are included in the Company's results for 2011, 2010 and 2009. As a result of changes to our management reporting structure, in the first quarter of 2012 we will begin reporting information for our India business as a standalone reporting segment separated from YRI. While our consolidated results will not be impacted, we will restate our historical segment information during 2012 for consistent presentation.