Yum's profit slips but it's upbeat on China growth (AP)

Ravi Nagarajan submits:One of the qualities investors look for when evaluating companies is the presence of brand equity.

By Junheng Li:This article was first published on Forbes.

[AP] - Yum Brands Inc., the owner of the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC fast-food brands, said Tuesday that its third-quarter profit grew 7 percent on the strength of surging overseas sales, mainly in China.

Hundreds of fast-food employees in Detroit walked off the job on Friday, temporarily shuttering a handful of outlets as part of a growing U.S. worker movement that is demanding higher wages for flipping burgers and operating fryers.

As many as 500 workers from McDonald’s Corp., Wendy’s Co. and Yum! Brands Inc. are set to strike Thursday in New York City as they call for higher wages. “By far, it will be one of the biggest actions that fast-food workers have taken in this country,” Jonathan Westin, executive director of advocacy group and organizer New York Communities for Change, said in an interview before the strike. The employees want $15-an-hour pay and the right to form a union, he said.