Americana’s 59% Profit Jump and Taco Bell’s Return to the UAE
The region’s largest restaurant operator reported a 59.2% rise in first-half net profit to $147.2 million, then announced that Taco Bell will come back to the UAE after 14 years.
Americana Restaurants International, the region’s biggest restaurant operator, reported a 59.2 per cent jump in first-half net profit, to $147.2 million, as sales grew and margins widened. On 30 August it followed the results with a second piece of news: Taco Bell is coming back to the UAE.
The numbers
For the six months to 30 June 2026, revenue rose 12.1 per cent to $1.36 billion, with like-for-like sales up 6.3 per cent. EBITDA climbed 26.7 per cent to $348.2 million, and the margin widened by 290 basis points to 25.5 per cent. Free cash flow rose 44.5 per cent to $160 million, and the board approved an interim dividend of $100.8 million, or $0.012 a share.
The group ran 2,746 restaurants at the end of June across 12 countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Kazakhstan, having added 108 net new outlets over 12 months. For the full year it expects mid-single-digit like-for-like growth, a further improvement in net margin of 1 to 1.5 percentage points, and 120 to 130 net new stores.
The company credited locally relevant menu items, a mix of premium launches and value options, and creator-led marketing for the sales growth. Procurement savings and operating leverage absorbed higher input costs linked to the regional situation, and better economics in home delivery helped profitability. Gulf News noted that the result continues a recovery from 2024, when revenue fell, and that 2025 revenue reached $2.51 billion.
Deals around the results
Americana also reported what it described as the acquisition of Malak Al Tawouk in Saudi Arabia, completed on 9 July. The deal was announced in February as a 75-year exclusive licence for the Arabic-cuisine brand across 13 markets, together with the purchase of its existing franchisees: seven restaurants in the UAE and three in Saudi Arabia, for about SAR 78 million ($20.8 million). The group also signed a five-year partnership with ADNOC Distribution giving preferential access to 200 high-traffic locations, and launched a premium retail brand, carpo, in Qatar. For the wider picture of Gulf dealmaking, see our investment analysis.
Taco Bell returns
Americana has signed an exclusive development agreement with Taco Bell UK and Europe, a Yum! Brands subsidiary, to relaunch the chain in the UAE before rolling it out in phases across the Gulf. Taco Bell first entered the UAE in 2008 and withdrew in 2012. No opening date or first location has been announced, though Dubai is widely expected to be the starting point.
Taco Bell has more than 9,000 restaurants worldwide, over 1,200 of them outside the United States. Americana’s chairman, Mohamed Alabbar, framed the move around younger diners, and said, “We will start here, get it right, and scale Taco Bell across the UAE and the GCC,” Khaleej Times reported.
What it signals
The two stories connect. A group that has rebuilt its margins is using them to widen its brand list, adding an Arabic-cuisine brand and a Mexican-inspired chain to a portfolio built on American fast food. International names keep looking at the Gulf, as our report on overseas brands in Saudi Arabia shows. The test for Taco Bell will be the one it failed 14 years ago: staying power in a crowded market. Americana has not yet said where or when it will begin.
Sources & fact-check5
- Americana Restaurants delivers strong H1 2026 performanceZawya (Americana Restaurants press release), July 2026
- KFC, Pizza Hut owner Americana to open up to 130 more restaurants after strong H1 growthGulf News, July 2026
- Taco Bell to return to UAE after 14 years as Americana Restaurants plans Gulf expansionThe National, 30 August 2026
- Taco Bell to return to UAE after 14 years; plans to expand to other GCC countriesKhaleej Times, 30 August 2026
- Americana signs 75-year license pact for Malak Al Tawouk, acquires franchisees in UAE, Saudi ArabiaArgaam, 9 February 2026
Every name, number and date in this story was checked against the sources above before publication. Spotted something wrong? Tell us — we correct errors openly. See our editorial standards.
