NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 4, 2017 / Mondelez trended higher on Wednesday after one of the world's largest snacks companies reported earnings after the bell on Tuesday. The company posted sales that topped estimates for the first quarter, sending shares north the next day. Yum! Brands also saw shares climb higher after reporting a first quarter report that had better than expected results thanks in part to its Taco Bell stores.

RDI Initiates Coverage on:

Mondelez International, Inc.
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=MDLZ

Yum! Brands, Inc.
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=YUM

Mondelez International, Inc. shares closed up 2.95% on Wednesday after the American multinational confectionery, food, and beverage company topped estimates in its Q1 earnings report. Sales for the first quarter came in at $6.4 billon, beating the analyst estimate of $6.37 billion. Adj. earnings of $0.53 per share (reported earnings: of $0.41 per share), also beat estimates. The Zacks Consensus Estimate had called for $0.50 per share. Following the earnings release, Goldman Sachs upgraded its price target on the company from $52 to $53 and reiterated a "Conviction Buy" rating. CEO Irene Rosenfeld stated, "We had a solid start to the year despite challenging market conditions. We delivered both top-line organic growth and strong margin expansion in the quarter, while also making critical investments for our future. We remain confident in and committed to our balanced strategy for both top- and bottom-line growth, continuing to focus on what we can control to deliver long-term value creation for our shareholders." Before earnings, shares of Mondelez had been down more than 1% since the beginning of the year.

Access RDI's Mondelez Research Report at:
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=MDLZ

Yum! Brands, Inc. shares closed up 2.88% yesterday on nearly twice as high trading volume compared to usual after the Louisville-based company released its first quarter report. The company, which owns Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC, reported net income of 65 cents, excluding special items. This not only beat the analyst estimate of 60 cents, but also was an increase of 17% from a year earlier. Same-store sales for Taco Bell saw an 8% growth during the first quarter, KFC saw a 2% increase, and Pizza Hut saw a 3% decrease. CEO Greg Creed commented, "Our strategic transformation of Yum Brands is already well under way, helping us deliver a solid start to 2017 with core operating profit growth of 9 percent in the first quarter."

Access RDI's Yum! Brands Research Report at:
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=YUM

Our Actionable Research on Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) and Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) can be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.

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SOURCE: RDInvesting.com