Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. CAKE scored 40.4, YUM scored 71.3 — YUM leads.
Compare another set
CAKE
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated
Restaurants · Quality-Growth
40.4
$108.45 · $5.4B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
30.9
YUM leads
YUM
Yum! Brands, Inc.
Restaurants · Quality-Growth
71.3
$144.82 · $39.5B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestYUM18.2x
Fastest growthYUM+10.3%
Highest qualityYUM88 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueYUM-9%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
CAKE
stronger →← stronger
YUM
66
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
88
64
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
69
16
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
60
YUM is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
CAKE
YUM
$205mC
FCF
$1.7bC+
+4.7%C+
Rev
+10.3%B
4.01D
D/E
Negative equity
29.4xC
P/E
18.2xB
1.83C+
PEG
1.83C+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
CAKE
YUM
57% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
9% below
~19%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~4%/yr
-42%
1-yr DCF upside
+2%
-36%
5-yr DCF upside
+9%
-28%
10-yr DCF upside
+21%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
CAKE
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
YUM
Why this score
Raising its dividend
The companies
CAKEThe Cheesecake Factory Incorporated
Restaurants · $108.45 · beta 1.04
Why now
Restaurants · market cap $5.4b. 8% off the 52-week high of $118.46. 14 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $97.43 (implying -10% upside).
Moat
ROE 39% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 115% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
D/E 4.01 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Net margin 4.6% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first.
YUMYum! Brands, Inc.
Restaurants · $144.82 · beta 0.55
Why now
Restaurants · market cap $39.5b. 15% off the 52-week high of $170.14. Revenue growing +10%, comfortably above the S&P median. 22 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $171.06 (implying +18% upside).
Moat
Net margin 25% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where CAKE and YUM diverge
On the headline score the gap is 30.9 points in favor of YUM. The widest single difference is Value, where YUM leads by 44.5 points.
ValueCAKE 15.6 · YUM 60.1YUM +44.5
QualityCAKE 66.3 · YUM 87.7YUM +21.4
GrowthCAKE 63.6 · YUM 68.8YUM +5.2
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is YUM or CAKE the better stock?
YUM scores higher: YUM 71.3, CAKE 40.4 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do YUM and CAKE differ most?
The widest gap is value, where YUM leads by 45 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. YUM leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are YUM and CAKE scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.