Starbucks (SBUX)

Consumer Discretionary · $124B market cap · SEC CIK 0000829224

Next reports on Jan 26, 2027, with analysts expecting $0.77 in earnings per share.

52-week range $81.76 to $111.50. 1% below its 52-week high and 34% above its low.

The case for SBUX

• Pays a modest 2.2% dividend.
• Within 1% of its 52-week high: the trend is up.

The case against

• Expensive for its growth: 62.6× earnings, where 10% a year of growth plus a 2.2% dividend would justify about 26×.
• Earnings per share down 25.0%.
• Owes more than it owns: shareholder equity is −$8.1B, usually the result of buybacks funded with debt. ROE and price-to-book mean little here.
• Current liabilities exceed current assets (ratio 0.76).
• Dividend takes 142% of earnings, leaving little cushion.
• Return on assets of 6.4% is lower than 85% of Consumer Discretionary companies.

What the score is made of

Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Consumer Discretionary companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.

• Shareholder equity is negative, so return on equity, price-to-book and debt-to-equity are left out.
• Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 48 Consumer Discretionary companies.

The financials

The financials, five years deep

Pulled from Starbucks's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.

What Starbucks says it does

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“10-K” or “Report”) for the fiscal year ended September 28, 2025 (“fiscal 2025”), Starbucks Corporation (together with its subsidiaries) is referred to as “Starbucks,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our.” Starbucks is the premier roaster, marketer, and retailer of specialty coffee in the world, operating in 89 markets. Formed in 1985, Starbucks Corporation’s common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “SBUX.” We purchase and roast high-quality coffees that we sell, along with handcrafted coffee, tea, and other beverages and a variety of high-quality food items through company-operated stores (“stores” or “coffeehouses”). We also sell a variety of coffee and tea products and license our trademarks through other channels, such as licensed stores as well as grocery and foodservice through our Global Coffee Alliance with Nestlé S.A. (“Nestlé”). In addition to our…

Risk factors SBUX lists in its 10-K

• Our success depends substantially on the value of our brand, and failure to preserve its value could have a negative impact on our financial results
• We may not be successful in our brand, marketing, promotional, advertising, and pricing strategies
• Evolving consumer preferences and tastes, as well as adverse public or medical opinions about the health effects of consuming our products, may adversely affect our business
• If our business partners and third-party providers do not satisfactorily fulfill their responsibilities and commitments, it could damage our brand, and our financial results could suffer
• Reported incidents involving food- or beverage-borne illnesses, tampering, adulteration, contamination, or mislabeling, whether or not accurate, could harm our business
• If we are unable to meet our projections for new store openings or efficiently maintain the attractiveness of our existing stores, our operating results could suffer
• We are highly dependent on the financial performance of our North America operating segment
• We are dependent on the performance of licensed and company-owned international markets to achieve our growth targets
• We face risks as a global business that could adversely affect our financial performance
• Our reliance on key business partners may adversely affect our business and operations
• Our supply chain may be unable to fully support current and future business needs
• We are subject to risks from changes to the trade policies and tariff and import/export regulations by the U.S. and other foreign governments
• Interruption of our supply chain and our reliance on suppliers could affect our ability to produce or deliver our products and could negatively impact our business and profitability
• Our financial condition and results of operations have been, and may continue to be, adversely affected by a number of macroeconomic and other factors, many of which are largely outside our control
• The loss of key personnel, difficulties with recruiting and retaining qualified personnel, or ineffectively managing changes in our workforce could adversely impact our business and financial results
• Changes in the availability and cost of labor could adversely affect our business
• We face intense competition in each of our channels and markets, which could lead to reduced profitability
• Climate change may have an adverse impact on our business
• Our business is subject to evolving corporate governance and public disclosure regulations and expectations, including with respect to responsible business matters, that could expose us to numerous risks
• Certain activist shareholder actions have caused, and could continue to cause, us to incur expense, hinder execution of our business strategy, and adversely impact our stock price
• Failure to comply with applicable laws and changing legal and regulatory requirements could harm our business and financial results
• We have been, and could continue to be, party to litigation or other legal proceedings that could adversely affect our business, results, operations, and reputation
• Failure to maintain satisfactory compliance with certain privacy and data protection laws and regulations may result in substantial negative financial consequences, reputational harm, and civil or criminal penalties
• Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property or ensure that we are not infringing on the intellectual property of others could harm the value of our brand and our business

Filings

Other Consumer Discretionary companies