Pizza Hut Closed 275 US Restaurants in 2026, New Filing Shows

Pizza Hut has closed 275 U.S. restaurants through August 18, 2026, according to an amended franchise disclosure document filed October 8 — the first since the Texas-based chain split from Yum Brands.

The new figure is more than double what Pizza Hut disclosed six months ago. The original 2026 franchise disclosure document, released in March, showed 127 closures as of March 6. The five months that followed wiped out another 148 locations.

Every one of the 275 shuttered restaurants was a franchised location. None were company-owned.

Who owns Pizza Hut now?

Private equity firm LongRange Capital acquired Pizza Hut on September 1, 2026, ending more than two decades of ownership by Yum Brands. The amended FDD was updated on October 8, 2026, to reflect the ownership change.

Fast Company reached out to Pizza Hut and LongRange Capital for details on closure plans for the rest of the year. Neither has responded so far, and the story will be updated if they do.

How many locations does Pizza Hut have left?

At the end of fiscal year 2025, Pizza Hut operated 5,031 U.S. locations. Of those, 4,956 were franchised and 75 were company-owned, according to the disclosure document.

The 275 closures so far in 2026 represent roughly 5.5% of that year-end footprint.

Growth is thin on the other side of the ledger. The amended FDD projects just 33 new U.S. franchise openings for 2026 — a number that hasn't moved since the March filing.

Where did the closures hit hardest?

The disclosure document doesn't name specific restaurants, but it does break down store closures state by state from 2023 through 2025.

As Fast Company previously reported, franchised locations closed across 40 states during that period. Five states absorbed the most closures:

• California
• Florida
• Illinois
• Georgia
• Texas

Was the shrinkage planned?

Partly, yes. In February, before the ownership change, Yum Brands CFO Ranjith Roy said during the Q4 2025 earnings call that Pizza Hut would close around 250 underperforming locations in the first half of 2026.

The brand has now blown past that marker. The 275 closures logged through August 18 exceed Roy's guidance by 25, and the count doesn't include the final four-plus months of the year.

What happens next?

The math frames the challenge for LongRange Capital's first full year at the helm: a shrinking base of roughly 4,750 U.S. stores, 33 projected new openings, and no public statement yet on how many more closures are coming before 2027.