Maybe someone can “OutPizza The Hut” after all.
Pizza Hut is set to close 250 “underperforming” locations in the United States in the first half of 2026 as its parent company, Yum! Brands, Inc., continues a strategic review of the struggling brand.
During a Feb. 4 Yum! Brands earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Ranjith Roy said that the move was part of “Hut Forward,” a strategy which includes “vibrant marketing, modernization of technology, and franchise agreements.”
“While we don’t share specific details of franchise agreements, we are pleased to be working in partnership with our franchisees on increased efforts to deliver near-term sales while advancing long-term strategy,” Yum! Brands told Restaurant Business Online in an emailed statement.
The closure announcement comes as Pizza Hut’s store sales in the United States declined by 3% in the fourth quarter of 2025, while other Yum! Brands’ restaurants, like Taco Bell, saw sales increases of 7% during the same quarter.
“The 250 stores that we mentioned is a very small portion of the 20,000-unit estate that Pizza Hut has globally,” Roy said during the earnings call. “And it is the right answer for the brand as we move through the strategic review.”
Yum! Brands did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on Feb. 4.
The closures at Pizza Hut come as Yum! Brands, which also owns Taco Bell and KFC, continues “a formal review of strategic options for the Pizza Hut brand,” with a sale as a possibility.
Yum! Brands announced the review back in November 2025, during which Pizza Hut sales in the United States declined by 7%.
“The Pizza Hut team has been working hard to address business and category challenges; however, 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,” Yum! Brands CEO Chris Turner said in a news release.
Although 2026 is only a month in, multiple fast-food and fast-casual chain restaurants across the United States have announced plans to downsize, with some stating they intend to focus resources on their stronger-performing stores.
Among the restaurants that have announced closures are Noodles & Company, Red Robin and Wendy’s.
Noodles & Company, in a Jan. 12 news release, said it would be closing 30 to 35 stores in 2026. Wendy’s said in January that it is continuing to evaluate underperforming restaurants that could close this year.
USA TODAY’s Saleen Martin and Mike Snider contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatoday.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.