In June, fast-food restaurant giant Yum Brands announced it would sell Pizza Hut to private equity firm LongRange Capital. Yesterday, LongRange Capital announced it had completed its acquisition.
The pizza chain has seen significant changes to its physical store footprint in recent years. Before being acquired, Pizza Hut closed 261 U.S. stores in 2025, according to the pizza chain’s latest franchise disclosure document (FDD), released in March 2026. Those store closures have continued into this year.
According to the document, Pizza Hut operated 5,031 franchise and company-owned locations across the United States at the end of fiscal year 2025, a net loss of 206 restaurants from the start of the year. Of those locations, 75 were company-owned and 4,956 were franchised.
Which states lost the most Pizza Hut locations?
Pizza Hut closed 259 franchised locations across 40 states in 2025. (The document notes that some of those stores have relocated.) Here’s how many stores closed in each state:
- California: 28
- Florida: 25
- Illinois: 20
- Georgia: 18
- Texas: 16
- Indiana: 10
- Minnesota: 10
- Pennsylvania: 10
- Wisconsin: 10
- Louisiana: 9
- New York: 9
- Alabama: 8
- Ohio: 8
- Maryland: 6
- South Carolina: 6
- Kentucky: 5
- Missouri: 5
- Washington: 5
- Colorado: 4
- Iowa: 4
- North Carolina: 4
- Arizona: 3
- Kansas: 3
- Nebraska: 3
- Nevada: 3
- New Jersey: 3
- Oklahoma: 3
- Tennessee: 3
- Utah: 3
- Arkansas: 2
- Michigan: 2
- Mississippi: 2
- North Dakota: 2
- Alaska: 1
- Idaho: 1
- Montana: 1
- New Mexico: 1
- Oregon: 1
- Virginia: 1
- West Virginia: 1
Pizza Hut also closed two company-owned stores across the following two states:
- North Carolina: 1
- South Carolina: 1
Pizza Hut store closures are a growing trend
The latest franchise disclosure document also reveals a three-year trend. The company had a net loss of 16 locations in 2023, 70 in 2024, and 206 in 2025.
Pizza Hut has also opened fewer stores each year throughout the last three years. The brand opened 155 locations in 2023, 89 in 2024, and 55 in 2025.
Pizza Hut opened locations in these states
Though store closures outpaced openings, the pizza chain opened 55 franchise locations across 25 states in 2025. Here’s how many franchised stores opened in each state:
- New York: 10
- Texas: 7
- Florida: 6
- Tennessee: 5
- Iowa: 3
- Pennsylvania: 3
- Indiana: 2
- Louisiana: 2
- Arkansas: 1
- Georgia: 1
- Illinois: 1
- Kansas: 1
- Kentucky: 1
- Maryland: 1
- Michigan: 1
- Mississippi: 1
- Missouri: 1
- New Jersey: 1
- North Carolina: 1
- North Dakota: 1
- Oregon: 1
- South Carolina: 1
- Utah: 1
- Virginia: 1
- Wisconsin: 1
Pizza Hut reacquired 54 locations
The pizza brand increased its company-owned footprint by reacquiring 54 franchisee locations across three states in 2025. The brand started the year with 23 company-owned stores, closed two locations, and reacquired 54, ending the year with 75 company-owned locations.
Here’s how many franchised stores Pizza Hut bought from franchisees by state:
- North Carolina: 30
- Louisiana: 18
- South Carolina: 6
What’s next for Pizza Hut?
The franchise disclosure document also noted that from December 30, 2025, through March 6, 2026, 127 franchise restaurants ceased operations.
In February 2026, during its Q4 2025 earnings call, Yum Brands CFO Ranjith Roy said Pizza Hut would close about 250 underperforming locations in the first half of 2026.
In April 2026, a Fast Company review found that Pizza Hut had already closed more than 50 stores across 20 states, although the chain did not provide a complete list.
Fast Company reached out to Pizza Hut and LongRange Capital for more information, asking whether the company still plans to close 250 stores this year. We’ll update this story if we receive a reply.
This story is developing…