STARBUCKS CORP (SBUX)

Starbucks Corporation is a roaster, marketer, and retailer of specialty coffee, operating in 89 markets. Formed in 1985, it trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol SBUX. The company buys and roasts coffee and sells it, along with handcrafted coffee, tea, other beverages, and food, through company-operated stores. It also sells coffee and tea products and licenses its trademarks through licensed stores and through grocery and foodservice channels under its Global Coffee Alliance with Nestlé. In fiscal 2025 it pursued a "Back to Starbucks" strategy aimed at drawing customers back to its stores and returning to growth. That strategy included a restructuring plan to close coffeehouses without a viable path to the desired physical environment and financial performance, and to transform its support organization.

Starbucks has three reportable segments: North America (U.S. and Canada, 74% of fiscal 2025 revenues), International (China, Japan, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, 21%), and Channel Development (5%). North America and International include both company-operated and licensed stores. Channel Development covers roasted whole bean and ground coffee, single-serve products, ready-to-drink beverages such as Frappuccino and Starbucks Doubleshot, foodservice products, and other branded goods sold outside its stores. Brands include Starbucks Coffee, Teavana, Ethos, and Starbucks Reserve. At fiscal year-end there were 40,990 stores: 21,514 company-operated and 19,476 licensed. Company-operated store sales were 73% beverages, 23% food, and 4% other items.

Company-operated stores produced 83% of fiscal 2025 net revenues and licensed stores 12%. Stores are typically in high-traffic locations such as downtown and suburban retail centers, office buildings, university campuses, and rural and off-highway sites. The U.S. is the largest and most mature market, and China, Japan, and the U.K. are the largest international company-operated markets. Customers are served through the Starbucks Card stored value program, the Starbucks Rewards loyalty program, and the Starbucks Mobile App with its Mobile Order and Pay feature. Licensees are often prominent local retailers. They buy products and equipment from Starbucks, pay royalties and fees, and follow its operating procedures and training. A limited number of international markets use traditional franchising. Global ready-to-drink businesses operate through collaborations with PepsiCo, Nestlé, and others.

Starbucks generally controls coffee purchasing, roasting, packaging, and global distribution for coffee used in its operations. It buys green coffee beans from multiple producing regions and custom roasts them. Premium high-altitude arabica is purchased at negotiated prices above the "C" commodity price, and coffee prices have risen in recent years. Supply and price are affected by weather, crop disease, input costs, and political and economic conditions. Nestlé controls distribution of Starbucks packaged coffee outside its stores and in some cases roasts and packages it. As of September 28, 2025, Starbucks employed approximately 381,000 people worldwide, about 223,000 of them in the U.S., and partners in roughly 6% of U.S. company-operated stores are represented by unions.