IHG vs. YUMC: InterContinental Hotels vs. Yum China Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC) both belong to the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry, though IHG is classified under Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines while YUMC falls under Restaurants.

Yum China (YUMC) trades as ordinary local shares, while InterContinental Hotels (IHG) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Company profile comparison for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC)
Profile Item	IHG	YUMC
Name	InterContinental Hotels Group PLC ADR	Yum China Holdings, Inc.
Country/Region	United Kingdom	China
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Services	Consumer Services
GICS Industry	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure
GICS Sub-Industry	Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines	Restaurants
Market Capitalization	26.05 billion USD	16.79 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	April 10, 2003	October 17, 2016
Security Type	ADR	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

IHG

YUMC

GSPC

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	IHG	YUMC
Total Return (1Y)	39.88%	17.02%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	37.41%	6.80%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	22.58%	-0.60%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

IHG

YUMC

GSPC

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	IHG	YUMC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	25.00%	25.40%
Beta (5Y)	1.09	0.01
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-32.78%	-53.84%
Avg. Volume (3M)	213.26K	1.59M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

IHG and YUMC are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	IHG	YUMC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.42	0.50
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.31	0.77

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Yum China (YUMC) earns 17.35% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; InterContinental Hotels (IHG) has no ROE this period.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

Max: 76.75%
Q3: 34.07%
Median: 15.90%
Q1: 3.23%
Min: -40.61%
IHG: --

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

17.35%

Max: 76.75%
Q3: 34.07%
YUMC: 17.35%
Median: 15.90%
Q1: 3.23%
Min: -40.61%

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): IHG does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; YUMC is benchmarked against the Consumer Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 13.40% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Yum China (YUMC) at 7.90%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

13.40%

Max: 25.52%
IHG: 13.40%
Q3: 12.95%
Median: 6.63%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -14.36%

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

7.90%

Max: 25.52%
Q3: 12.95%
YUMC: 7.90%
Median: 6.63%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -14.36%

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 25.12% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Yum China (YUMC) at 13.09%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

25.12%

Max: 49.05%
IHG: 25.12%
Q3: 24.35%
Median: 14.23%
Q1: 5.67%
Min: -16.47%

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

13.09%

Max: 49.05%
Q3: 24.35%
Median: 14.23%
YUMC: 13.09%
Q1: 5.67%
Min: -16.47%

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	IHG	YUMC
ROE (TTM)	--	17.35%
ROA (TTM)	15.51%	7.81%
Net Margin (TTM)	13.40%	7.90%
Operating Margin (TTM)	25.12%	13.09%
Gross Margin (TTM)	60.97%	20.45%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 5.40% and Yum China (YUMC) at 4.37% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: Yum China (YUMC) reports EPS growth of 7.73%, ranked against its industry; InterContinental Hotels (IHG) has no EPS growth figure this period.

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	IHG	YUMC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.40%	4.37%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.06%	7.23%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	7.73%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	33.17%	34.14%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 0.66 and Yum China (YUMC) at 0.67 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

0.66

Max: 3.41
Q3: 1.85
Median: 1.06
Q1: 0.72
IHG: 0.66
Min: 0.22

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

0.67

Max: 3.41
Q3: 1.85
Median: 1.06
Q1: 0.72
YUMC: 0.67
Min: 0.22

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Yum China (YUMC) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54 against its industry range, while InterContinental Hotels (IHG) reports no figure this period.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

Max: 6.12
Q3: 2.93
Median: 1.29
Q1: 0.37
Min: 0.01
IHG: --

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

0.54

Max: 6.12
Q3: 2.93
Median: 1.29
YUMC: 0.54
Q1: 0.37
Min: 0.01

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): IHG does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; YUMC is benchmarked against the Consumer Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	IHG	YUMC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.66	0.67
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	0.54
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.89	0.85

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Yum China (YUMC) at 2.23% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 1.08% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, YUMC the richer one.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

1.08%

Max: 4.10%
Q3: 1.82%
IHG: 1.08%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

2.23%

Max: 4.10%
YUMC: 2.23%
Q3: 1.82%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 39.21% and Yum China (YUMC) at 38.54% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

39.21%

Max: 89.80%
IHG: 39.21%
Q3: 36.83%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

38.54%

Max: 89.80%
YUMC: 38.54%
Q3: 36.83%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	IHG	YUMC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.08%	2.23%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	39.21%	38.54%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Yum China (YUMC) at 17.34 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 37.95 sits in the richer quartile — IHG needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

37.95

Max: 71.70
IHG: 37.95
Q3: 37.12
Median: 21.88
Q1: 13.00
Min: 5.72

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

17.34

Max: 71.70
Q3: 37.12
Median: 21.88
YUMC: 17.34
Q1: 13.00
Min: 5.72

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Yum China (YUMC) at 1.32 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 4.89 sits in the pricier quartile — IHG costs more per dollar of sales.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

4.89

Max: 6.40
IHG: 4.89
Q3: 3.01
Median: 1.54
Q1: 0.74
Min: 0.08

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

1.32

Max: 6.40
Q3: 3.01
Median: 1.54
YUMC: 1.32
Q1: 0.74
Min: 0.08

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) reports a negative P/B ratio of -53.91, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Yum China (YUMC) reports 3.19, ranking against industry peers normally.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

-53.91

Max: 12.02
Q3: 5.58
Median: 2.37
Q1: 1.09
Min: -4.51
IHG: -53.91

YUMC

Consumer Services industry group

3.19

Max: 12.02
Q3: 5.58
YUMC: 3.19
Median: 2.37
Q1: 1.09
Min: -4.51

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Yum China (YUMC): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Yum China (YUMC)
Metric	IHG	YUMC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	37.95	17.34
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.89	1.32
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-53.91	3.19
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.51%	-2.30%