Warner Music Group Corp vs Yum! Brands, Inc. — how do they compare? Warner Music Group Corp trades at $28.16 (market cap $14.66B), while Yum! Brands, Inc. trades at $144.94 (market cap $40.80B). The key difference: Yum! Brands, Inc. is far larger — about 2.8× Warner Music Group Corp's market cap, and Warner Music Group Corp pays the higher dividend (2.85%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| WMG | YUM | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $14.66B | $40.80B |
Sector | Media | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $34.72 | $168.16 |
52-Week Low | $23.65 | $138.21 |
Enterprise Value | $18.96B | $52.40B |
Dividend Yield | 2.85% | 2.01% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Warner Music Group (WMG) trades at $28.03, down 2.61% on the day, with a bearish technical signal. Recent earnings show mixed quarterly beats, with Q1 and Q2 2026 exceeding expectations but Q4 2025 missing. Revenue has grown steadily from $5.9B in 2022 to $6.7B in 2025, though net income margin declined to 5.44%. The company maintains a strong ROE of 25.38% and recently announced a strategic AI music partnership with Suno (Reuters, 2026-09-09).
Outlook is cautiously optimistic with analyst consensus at 66.7% buy ratings. Key opportunities include streaming growth and AI initiatives, while risks involve margin pressure and leadership changes. The stock's valuation at a P/E of 22.42 appears reasonable given growth prospects, but investors should monitor execution on margin improvement and competitive dynamics in the music industry.
YUM trades at $149.59, down 0.74% on the day, with a bearish technical signal and neutral oscillators. The company reported revenue of $8.21B and net income of $1.56B in 2025, with a P/E ratio of 18.83. Recent developments include the sale of Pizza Hut for approximately $1.5B to LongRange Capital, with proceeds aimed at debt reduction and share buybacks, alongside a declared $0.75 quarterly dividend.
The outlook is mixed: analyst consensus is a buy with a $173.60 price target, but high debt and a legal investigation pose risks. Earnings have beaten expectations in two of the last three quarters, with Q3 2026 results pending. The stock offers potential upside from strategic refocusing and buybacks, balanced against consumer spending pressures and leverage concerns.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Warner Music Group is the third largest of the three major global record labels, with Vivendi's Universal Music in first and Sony Music in second. Warner's larger segment, recorded music, consists of iconic labels like Atlantic Records, Warner Records, and Parlophone Records and popular artists such as Ed Sheeran, Cardi B, Dua Lipa, and Blake Shelton. Warner Chappell, the firm's publishing arm, is the home to over 65,000 composers and songwriters with over a million copyrights represented. Warner is controlled by Access Industries, which owns an 84% economic interest and 99% of voting rights.
Read more on WMG →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 →