Starbucks has now delivered four consecutive quarters of positive comparable-store sales, with margins expanding for two straight quarters under CEO Brian Niccol's back-to-basics turnaround. U.S. comparable sales rose 7.9% in the latest quarter, with transactions up 4.2% and pricing contributing less than one percentage point to average-ticket growth, while food availability reached close to 99%, about 10 percentage points better than a year earlier. Consolidated operating margin hit 14.4%, up 430 basis points year over year, and management raised fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.55-$2.65, supported by a $2 billion cost-savings program running through fiscal 2028. More than 1,000 store uplifts had been completed by the latest quarter, and Starbucks has moved its China retail operation into a joint venture in which it retains 40%, still seeing potential for up to 20,000 stores there. The stock trades at 30.86x forward earnings, and according to Insider Monkey's database, 64 hedge funds held Starbucks in Q2, down slightly from 65 in Q1, while the value of those positions rose from $1.98 billion to $2.63 billion.
Starbucks CorporationOperating margin expanded 430bp to 14.4% and management raised fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.55-$2.65.
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