Start here if you're new
what it is
Starbucks sells coffee, food, and packaged products through its own cafes and licensed stores worldwide.
how it gets paid
Last year Starbucks made $37.2B in revenue. Beverages was the main engine at $27.1B, or 73% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 2.8% last year. Revenue rose 6% vs. prior year to $9.9B.
what just happened
Starbucks posted $0.56 EPS, below the $0.65 estimate, even as revenue hit $9.9B.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
45/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
43.0x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
2.9% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
56.0% return on capital — a money-printing machine
xvary composite: 59/100 — below average
What they do
Starbucks sells coffee, food, and packaged products through its own cafes and licensed stores worldwide.
Starbucks runs 40,990 stores worldwide: 21,514 company-owned and 19,476 licensed. That is a lot of places to sell the same latte. Licensed stores mean other operators run the cafe under Starbucks' brand, so you get scale without paying for every lease.
How they make money
$37.2B
annual revenue · their business grew +2.8% last year
Beverages
$27.1B
Food
$8.6B
Packaged coffee and other
$1.5B
The products that matter
operates global coffee shops
Retail Coffee Shops
$37.2B revenue · 100% of sales shown here
it's the entire business on this snapshot: $37.2B in revenue tied to store traffic, pricing, and how often customers come back.
the whole story
Key numbers
$37.2B
annual sales
That is the size of the machine. Small changes in margin matter when the revenue base is this large.
43.0x
trailing p/e
You are paying 43 times past profits. That leaves very little room for disappointment.
17.5%
operating margin
For every $100 of sales, Starbucks keeps $17.50 before interest and taxes. Coffee is priced like a premium business.
2.9%
dividend yield
You get a cash payout while waiting for the stock to work. That helps if growth stays slow.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 70 / 100
- long-term debt $12.5B (11% of capital)
- net profit margin 9.3% — keeps 9 cents of every dollar in revenue
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in SBUX 3 years ago → it's now worth $9,040.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
Starbucks posted $0.56 EPS, below the $0.65 estimate, even as revenue hit $9.9B.
Revenue rose 6% vs. prior year to $9.9B. EPS missed by 13.85%, so more sales did not turn into more profit.
$9.9B
revenue
$0.56
eps
13.9%
surprise
the number that mattered
The key number was $0.56 EPS versus $0.65 expected. That 13.9% miss says sales alone did not cover the cost of bringing customers back.
-
starbucks is off to a mixed start in fiscal 2026. (the fiscal year ends october 3rd.) globally, comparable sales rose 4% in the december period.
-
the same-store increase from key north america also climbed 4%.
-
admittedly, though, the improvement at these mostly company-owned stores benefited from an easy comparison (-4%) in the base period.
-
moreover, attracting more customers into its stores to reverse last year's 8% traffic decline proved costly.
-
thus, adjusted margins at all levels fell further from depressed fiscal 2025 figures.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the top risk is margin pressure in the core store base — Starbucks grew sales, but full-year EPS still fell 36%.
med
margin pressure
Quarterly revenue reached $9.9B, yet quarterly margin was only 5.0% and full-year EPS fell to $2.13 from $3.31. That is the cleanest sign that the income statement is under strain.
At 43.0x trailing earnings, another weak margin print would pressure the multiple first and ask questions later.
med
foot-traffic slowdown
This snapshot shows one engine: retail coffee shops. That engine produced all $37.2B of revenue. If traffic or ticket size softens, you do not have a second large segment here to absorb the hit.
Because the business is tied to store demand, even a modest slowdown lands on the full revenue base, not a side segment.
med
legal and activism overhang
The recent Missouri DEI case and shareholder pressure add noise around a business that already has 45/100 earnings predictability. Legal issues do not need to be existential to be expensive.
The direct dollar exposure is not disclosed on this page. The risk you can verify now is management distraction and more headline volatility.
These risks sit on top of a $37.2B retail business with a 5.0% quarterly margin, a 36% full-year EPS drop, and a 43.0x trailing multiple. That is not much room for another stumble.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
eps recovery toward $2.50
That is the current fy2026 estimate. If Starbucks misses it, the premium multiple gets harder to defend.
trend
margin direction
The latest quarter ran at 5.0% margin. You want that line moving up, not explaining why it stayed low.
calendar
next earnings report
This is where management has to prove revenue growth and profit recovery can show up in the same quarter.
risk
legal case progress
Watch whether current legal disputes stay a headline problem or turn into a larger operating distraction.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts think the stock is acting like the market, not better than it.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — middle-of-the-road risk. safer than some consumer names, but not the defensive profile the brand reputation suggests.
chart momentum
below average
technical score 4 — the chart is weaker than average, which usually means buyers want more proof first.
earnings predictability
45 / 100
Earnings are harder to forecast here than the brand image implies. Expect more noise around results.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 3 consecutive quarters — 919 buyers vs. 1,177 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.9B shares. net selling for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$69
$133
$92
current price
$101
target midpoint · +10% from current · 3-5yr high: $125 (+35% · 10% ann'l return)
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