Earnings have grown by an average of 12.6% over the past 10 years, and analysts expect this to continue into the future, with a 5 year growth rate of 11.1%. $2.85 is expected in Fy 2011, and $3.19 in Fy 2012. Earnings have grown through a combination of sales growth, increased margins, and a share buyback program that has reduced outstanding shares by about 5.2% a year. In 2010, Yum! repurchased 9.8 million shares, using $390 million dollars. It’s great to see earnings growth as the result of a number of different metrics, rather than solely increasing sales or large buybacks.