The company operates KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, WingStreet (Pizza Hut's chicken wing menu), and Habit Burger & Grill since 2020, except in China, where the brands are operated by another company known as Yum China.

In 2002, they took their current name after they merged with Yorkshire Global Restaurants, which at the time was the parent company of A&W, who also spun off an international branch.

The company's history began in 1977, when PepsiCo entered the restaurant business by acquiring Pizza Hut from co-founders Dan and Frank Carney.

[4] In July 1986, R. J. Reynolds sold KFC to PepsiCo[4] to pay off debt from its recent purchase of Nabisco.

In 1993, it acquired Chevys Fresh Mex,[7] D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches,[8] and the American division of Canadian chain East Side Mario's.

These chains were later sold when PepsiCo exited the restaurant business and spun off KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (see next paragraph).

[14] Taco Bell and Pizza Hut continued to be headquartered in Irvine, California and Dallas, Texas, respectively.

's lifetime contract with Pepsi, Long John Silver's and A&W Restaurants (which previously served Coca-Cola products) began switching to Pepsi products, with A&W Restaurants retaining A&W Root Beer from a separate deal with Dr Pepper/Seven Up (now Keurig Dr Pepper).

began testing co-branding locations pairing Pizza Hut with Pasta Bravo, Back Yard Burgers, and A&W.

With little presence outside North America, the two chains no longer fit in the company's long-term growth plans.

[26] The foreign expansion—particularly that of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut—was cited in the firm's January 18, 2011, announcement of its intention to dispose of the A&W and Long John Silver's chains.

A Great American Brand bought A&W, and Long John Silver's was sold to LJS Partners LLC.

[28] The deal spent more than 4 months in antitrust review by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, to determine whether or not the transaction would result in a monopolistic positioning of Yum!

[29] In 2012, a KFC opened in Ramallah and became the first American fast food restaurant to operate in the West Bank; a Pizza Hut was also planned.

[30] In 2013, a few KFC locations in China supplied chicken found to contain "excess levels of chemical residue".

The company is planning to open 15 more restaurants in Ulaanbaatar in the next 5 years, including the country's first drive-thru service.

Brands also opened Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants in newer Target stores.

Brands had to book an impairment of the goodwill resulting from the takeover of Little Sheep in 2011 in the amount of $222 million, which reduced profits for 2013.

launched a number of additional restaurant test concepts, Super Chix, U.S. Taco Co. and Banh Shop.

opened Super Chix in Central Arlington, Texas, a restaurant similar in format to Chick-fil-A, on April 9, 2014.

announced they were acquiring Irvine, California-based The Habit Burger Grill, for $375 million; the transaction was completed on March 18, 2020.

completed the acquisition of Australian kitchen order management and delivery technology company Dragontail Systems for US$69.1 million in cash.

[46] In December 2023 the company announced it will acquire 218 restaurants from its largest franchisee EG Group in the UK and Ireland.