Duke Energy Corp vs Yum! Brands, Inc. — how do they compare? Duke Energy Corp trades at $126.01 (market cap $98.52B), while Yum! Brands, Inc. trades at $155.05 (market cap $43.60B). The key difference: Duke Energy Corp is far larger — about 2.3× Yum! Brands, Inc.'s market cap, and Duke Energy Corp pays the higher dividend (3.37%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| DUK | YUM | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $98.52B | $43.60B |
Sector | Utilities | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $133.46 | $168.16 |
52-Week Low | $113.99 | $138.21 |
Enterprise Value | $188.56B | $54.86B |
Dividend Yield | 3.37% | 1.9% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Duke Energy (DUK) trades at $126.86, up 1.1% on the day, with a bullish technical outlook and consistent earnings beats in recent quarters. The stock shows stable revenue growth, with 2025 revenue reaching $32.24B and net income of $4.97B, supported by a 15.49% net margin. Recent news highlights a dividend increase to $1.085 per share and strong institutional interest, with 37.5% of analysts rating it a Buy.
The outlook remains positive with a consensus price target of $136.60, offering ~7.7% upside. Risks include high debt levels (46.17% debt-to-asset ratio) and regulatory pressures, but the company's defensive utility profile and dividend reliability provide stability amid market volatility.
YUM Brands trades at $161.69, down 1.13% today, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and key resistance at $163. The company reported Q1 2026 EPS of $1.50, beating expectations, while revenue grew to $8.21B in 2025. Recent news includes a Taco Bell health investigation and the $2.7B Pizza Hut sale, which may streamline operations.
YUM's outlook is supported by strong cash flow and margin stability, but high debt and competitive pressures pose risks. Analysts maintain a $174.60 price target with a mixed buy/hold consensus. The stock offers growth potential post-Pizza Hut divestiture, though investor sentiment is cautious amid near-term headwinds.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Duke Energy is one of the largest U.S. utilities, with regulated utilities in the Carolinas, Indiana, Florida, Ohio, and Kentucky that deliver electricity to nearly 8 million customers. Its natural gas utilities serve more than 1.5 million customers. Duke operates in three major segments: electric utilities and infrastructure
Read more on DUK →Yum Brands is a U.S.-based restaurant operator featuring a portfolio of four brands: KFC (26,930 global units), Pizza Hut (18,380 units), Taco Bell (7,790 units), and The Habit Burger (310 units) at year-end 2021. With $58 billion in 2021 systemwide sales, the firm is the second-largest restaurant company in the world, behind McDonald's ($112.5 billion) but ahead of Restaurant Brands International ($36 billion) and Starbucks ($25 billion). Yum is 98% franchised, with the largest franchisee, Yum China, created via a 2016 spinoff transaction (after which Yum China agreed to pay 3% royalties to Yum Brands in perpetuity). Yum is the newest evolution of Tricon Brands, formerly a division of PepsiCo, and generates the bulk of its revenue from franchise royalties and marketing contributions.
Read more on YUM →