Pizza Hut Inc.

Pizza Hut is an international, limited-service restaurant chain and the largest pizza chain in the world by number of units. The company was initially founded in 1958 by Dan and Frank Carney in Wichita, Kansas, as a family dining-style restaurant and began franchising the concept inside the iconic hut-style buildings. The company has since shifted its focus mainly to carryout, takeout and delivery.

Over the years, Pizza Hut has become known for its original pan crust pizza, innovative pies in international locations (like the hot dog crust pizza) and the now-ubiquitous stuffed crust pizza.

Pizza Hut was bought by Yum! Brands in 2002. Today, the chain is headed by interim president Kevin Hochman after Pizza Hut Global CEO Artie Starrs left the company in March 2021 to head up Topgolf Entertainment Group. The Plano-based chain has more than 17,600 locations globally in 120 countries, with a large presence in China and India.

Most recently, Pizza Hut has doubled down on technology investment and menu innovation with the introduction of Detroit-style pizza in January 2020 and the launch of the Hut Lane, a digital pickup window, in select locations.

Key data:

Headquarters: Plano, Texas

Segment: Quick service

Number of U.S. locations: 7,172

2020 sales: 5,402,200

Annual growth:

CEO: Kevin Hochman (interim president)

Parent Group: Yum! Brands