Yum China Holdings Inc shares rose after the company reported better-than-expected operating profit in the fourth quarter, defying a price war in the country’s food delivery market.

The stock rallied as much as 9 percent in Hong Kong on Thursday, the biggest intraday gain since April 2025. Shares closed up 4.7 percent in the US on Wednesday.

Operating profit was $187 million, up 25 percent from a year earlier and beating the $179.8 million average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue rose 8.8 percent to $2.8 billion, also higher than analysts’ expectation of $2.7 billion. Adjusted earnings per share was 40 cents, compared with the 35 cents estimate.

The operator of KFC and Pizza Hut in China saw same-store sales increase 3 percent for the quarter ended Dec 31. For 2025, Yum China posted 11 percent growth in operating profit and a 4 percent increase in revenue to $1.3 billion and $11.8 billion, respectively.

Yum China sustained solid profit margins despite growing pricing pressure unleashed by food delivery platforms as the country’s tech giants doled out billions in subsidies in a battle for customers. Its continued expansion into smaller cities and key locations also supported revenue growth.

KFC’s restaurant margin was 14 percent in the fourth quarter, up slightly year-on-year and topping estimates. Pizza Hut’s margin of 9.9 percent also beat forecasts. KFC’s delivery sales grew 34 percent, contributing more than half of the chain’s overall sales.

The company expects operating profit margin to slightly improve year-on-year in 2026, while the first-quarter margin at KFC is estimated to remain stable, Chief Financial Officer Adrian Ding said on an earnings call. The company expects delivery sales to make up a bigger part of its business this year.

Yum China operated about 13,000 KFC stores and more than 4,000 Pizza Huts as of the end of 2025. It targets a total store count of over 20,000 this year.

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With Chinese authorities voicing concerns over price wars distorting the market and launching an investigation into competition practices at platform giants like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Meituan and JD.com Inc, restaurant and beverage chains have recently raised prices on delivery platforms. KFC increased prices on delivery platforms by an average of 0.8 yuan (12 cents) in January.

While a mild adjustment, “the price increase helped absorb some rider cost increase because of higher delivery mix,” Chief Executive Officer Joey Wat said during the call.