Yum Brands Inc., parent company of Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill, reported that the Irvine-based Mexican fast food chain generated system sales of $4.7 billion in the second quarter, up 9% year-over-year. Taco Bell’s same store sales rose 7% for the quarter ended June 30. After posting Q2 results, Yum Brands addressed the recent impact of the cyclospora outbreak on Taco Bell’s July sales and said they expect it to be temporary. Executives told analysts on the latest earnings call that they anticipate Taco Bell will continue to “outpace the broader QSR industry” despite the current sales and traffic slowdown. “Placer.ai data indicates that Taco Bell’s visit trends have improved since bottoming out on July 17–18 but remain roughly 20% below day-of-week averages (from January 1-July 6, 2026),” the foot traffic analytics firm said in a statement.