Starbucks (SBUX)
Consumer Discretionary · $108B market cap · SEC CIK 0000829224
fundamentals score out of 100
Next reports on Oct 27, 2026, after the close, with analysts expecting $0.73 in earnings per share.
The case for SBUX
- Pays a modest 2.2% dividend.
The case against
- Earnings per share down 25.0%.
- Pricey at 54.6× earnings, against a long-run market average nearer 20×.
- Owes more than it owns: shareholder equity is -$8.4B, 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. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings, sales, assets and cash | 24 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 43 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 34 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 51 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 43 |
- 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.
Key numbers
| Price / earnings | 54.6× |
|---|---|
| Price / book | n/m (negative equity) |
| Price / sales | 2.8× |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +4.5% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | -25.0% |
| Gross margin | 22% |
| Operating margin | 9% |
| Net margin | 5% |
| Return on assets | 6.4% (ROE not meaningful: negative equity) |
| Debt / equity | n/m (negative equity) |
| Current ratio | 0.76 |
| Dividend yield | 2.22% |
| Beta | 1.03 |
| 52-week range | $77.99 – $110.51 |
| Position in that range | 53% of the way up |
| 3-month return | -5.7% |
| 1-year return | +12.2% |
Five years of financials, as filed
Pulled from Starbucks's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are derived from the rows above.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $37.2B | $36.2B | $36.0B | $32.3B | $29.1B |
| Operating income | $2.9B | $5.4B | $5.9B | $4.6B | $4.9B |
| Net income | $1.9B | $3.8B | $4.1B | $3.3B | $4.2B |
| Operating cash flow | $4.7B | $6.1B | $6.0B | $4.4B | $6.0B |
| Capital expenditure | $2.3B | $2.8B | $2.3B | $1.8B | $1.5B |
| Total assets | $32.2B | $31.9B | $29.2B | $28.3B | $28.8B |
| Total liabilities | $40.6B | $39.4B | $37.8B | $36.9B | $37.3B |
| Shareholder equity | -$8.4B | -$7.5B | -$8.6B | -$8.7B | -$8.5B |
| Cash | $3.4B | $3.7B | $3.0B | $3.2B | $4.0B |
| Long-term debt | $14.6B | $14.3B | $13.6B | $13.2B | $13.6B |
| Free cash flow | $2.4B | $3.3B | $3.7B | $2.6B | $4.5B |
| Operating margin | 7.9% | 15.0% | 16.3% | 14.3% | 16.8% |
| Net margin | 5.0% | 10.4% | 11.5% | 10.2% | 14.5% |
| Diluted shares | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.2B | 1.2B | 1.2B |
Share count is down 3.9% over 4 years. Buybacks have been shrinking the pie.
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…
Risk factors SBUX lists in its 10-K
- Risks Related to Brand Relevance and Brand Execution
- 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
- Risks Related to Operating a Global Business
- 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