Starbucks’ (SBUX) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $105.00 price objective on the coffee company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on SBUX. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday. New Street Research set a $90.00 price objective on Starbucks in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.04.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $93.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $106.75 billion, a PE ratio of 77.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.96 and a 200-day moving average of $87.17. Starbucks has a one year low of $75.50 and a one year high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 28.66%. The firm had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 151.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 11,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $994,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 53,096 shares in the company, valued at $4,513,160. This trade represents a 28.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $16,126,000 after purchasing an additional 81,952 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 252,471 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $23,134,000 after buying an additional 12,377 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its holdings in Starbucks by 5.5% during the second quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 3,375 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Financial grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 527.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 4,047 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 sales and traffic improvement — Starbucks reported a revenue beat ($9.92B) and its first U.S. transaction growth in two years, supporting the turnaround narrative and earlier stock strength. Starbucks Gets a Jolt After Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Investor Day strategic initiatives — management showcased redesigned cafes, a long-term growth roadmap, AI-powered personalization and plans to convert momentum into sustainable growth; these are constructive for longer-term same-store-sales and margins if execution holds. Starbucks shows off redesigned cafes at 2026 investor day
• Positive Sentiment: Rewards relaunch to drive frequency — Starbucks will reintroduce a tiered Starbucks Rewards (Green/Gold/Reserve) on March 10 to encourage more visits and higher spend from its large U.S. member base. This is a direct demand-side lever. Starbucks Unveils Reimagined Loyalty Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views mixed — some firms reaffirm buy/raise price targets (e.g., $105), while others remain cautious or maintain hold ratings; consensus remains split on how fast margins recover. Analyst Coverage Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Expansion plans vs. execution risk — management plans hundreds of new U.S. stores and added seating, which can drive growth but requires execution (and may pressure near-term capex). Starbucks sees room to expand
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability strain and guidance — EPS missed estimates ( $0.56 vs. ~$0.59) and full‑year EPS guidance (2.15–2.40) sits near or slightly below consensus, signaling margins remain pressured even as sales recover. Earnings and Guidance Details
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder litigation risk and governance optics — investor‑rights firms (Halper Sadeh and others) announced probes into directors/officers, and the company loosened the cap on CEO private jet use; both increase headline risk and can weigh on sentiment. Halper Sadeh Investigation Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Questions on store-level health — critical commentary argues new openings won’t offset traffic declines at many legacy U.S. locations, highlighting execution and comp-risk that could undermine growth assumptions. Starbucks Comp Sales: Why New Stores Don’t Matter

Starbucks Company Profile

Starbucks Corporation is a global coffeehouse chain and roaster that operates, licenses and franchises coffee shops and related retail businesses. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, the company grew from a single store focused on whole-bean coffee and equipment into a broad consumer-facing brand. Howard Schultz, who joined the company later and served in senior leadership roles, is widely credited with transforming Starbucks into a mass-market specialty coffee retailer and expanding its footprint internationally.

Starbucks’ core activities center on the retail sale of hot and cold specialty beverages, whole-bean and packaged coffees, teas and ready-to-drink products, along with complementary food items and merchandise such as mugs and brewing equipment.