STARBUCKS

Company Profile and Market Insights

Explore the business model, global strategy, and market performance including insights into its position in China.

Key facts

Founded 1971 • IPO 1992 • Nasdaq ticker SBUX • Q1 FY26: $9.9B net revenues and +4% global comps

41,118

Stores worldwide (Q1 FY 2026 end)

52% / 48%

Company operated / licensed mix (Q1 FY 2026 end)

16,911

Stores in the United States (Q1 FY 2026 end)

8,011

Stores in China (Q1 FY 2026 end)

35.5M

90 day active Rewards members in the U.S. (Q1 FY 2026)

$9.9B

Consolidated net revenues (Q1 FY 2026)

About

Starbucks was founded in 1971 in Seattle, Washington, starting as a small shop in Pike Place Market that sold whole-bean coffee, tea, and spices. Today it is headquartered in Seattle and operates a global coffeehouse network built on company-operated and licensed stores. Alongside espresso drinks and brewed coffee, Starbucks sells tea, cold beverages, and food, with packaged coffee and ready-to-drink products extending the brand beyond cafés.
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Starbucks’ mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. The company ties that mission to coffee quality and sourcing standards, including its Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices program, and it reports working with more than 440,000 C.A.F.E.-verified coffee farms. In fiscal 2024, Starbucks reported that 99.75% of its coffee was ethically sourced and verified through C.A.F.E. Practices.
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As of December 28, 2025 (Q1 fiscal 2026), Starbucks operated in 90 markets worldwide and had 41,118 stores globally, with 52% company-operated and 48% licensed. The U.S. and China remained its two largest store bases, with 16,911 and 8,011 stores, respectively, representing 61% of the global portfolio.

Business Model and Market Position

Starbucks runs a retail-led model built on premium beverages, food, and a consistent store experience across company-operated and licensed formats. In Q1 fiscal 2026 (quarter ended December 28, 2025), beverages represented 60% of total net revenues and food represented 19%, with “other” (including packaged coffee, royalties and licensing, and ready-to-drink related items) at 21%.

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The model blends brand control with partner-led expansion. As of December 28, 2025, Starbucks had 41,118 stores worldwide, with 21,523 company-operated and 19,595 licensed. It operated in 90 markets, and the U.S. and China remained the two largest store bases with 16,911 and 8,011 stores, representing 61% of the global portfolio.

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Key pillars of the business

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Company-operated and licensed stores
Company-operated stores generate most revenue, while licensed stores extend reach with partner capital. In Q1 fiscal 2026, company-operated store revenues totaled $8.19 billion and licensed store revenues totaled $1.13 billion, equal to about 82.6% and 11.4% of total net revenues, based on reported segment revenues.
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Digital and loyalty as a traffic engine
In the U.S., Starbucks Rewards 90-day active members reached a record 35.5 million in Q1 fiscal 2026, and Rewards transactions grew year-over-year for the first time in eight quarters. Management also framed café, drive-thru, and mobile order pickup as an integrated “ecosystem” that supports convenience alongside the in-store experience.
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Channel Development beyond cafés
Starbucks sells packaged coffee, ready-to-drink, and foodservice products outside its stores, with most Channel Development revenues tied to Nestlé through the Global Coffee Alliance. In Q1 fiscal 2026, Channel Development net revenues were $522.7 million, up about 20% year-over-year, with earnings commentary pointing to strength in the Global Coffee Alliance and ready-to-drink.
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Market position

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Starbucks remains one of the largest specialty coffee retailers globally, with scale anchored by North America and a large, still-expanding China footprint. Competition spans local specialty cafés, quick-service chains, and the ready-to-drink aisle, which puts pressure on price, convenience, and location access.

Performance in China

China is Starbucks’ largest market outside the U.S. by store count. As of December 28, 2025, Starbucks had 8,011 stores in China, up 4% year on year. In Q1 FY2026, China net revenues rose 11% to $823.4 million and comparable store sales increased 7%, driven by a 5% lift in transactions and a 2% higher average ticket.

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Management linked the improvement to product innovation, marketing, and continued growth in delivery. Competition stays intense, led by domestic chains that compete on price and speed.

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In November 2025, Starbucks agreed to form a joint venture with Boyu Capital in which Boyu will hold up to 60% of Starbucks’ China retail operations while Starbucks retains 40% and continues to own and license the brand. Starbucks expects to finalize the joint venture in Q2 FY2026 and has classified the China retail assets as held for sale.

Growth and Future Prospects

Starbucks is in a reset phase focused on service, throughput, and a clearer coffeehouse experience under the “Back to Starbucks” plan. In Q1 fiscal 2026 (ended December 28, 2025), global comparable store sales rose 4%, driven by a 3% increase in transactions, with U.S. comparable sales also up 4%.

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Key growth drivers include:

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Coffeehouse experience upgrades at scale
Starbucks is scaling its Coffeehouse Uplift program to restore comfort and seating. Management reported about 200 completed uplifts and stated it is on track to complete more than 1,000 by the end of fiscal 2026. Starbucks also expects to add more than 25,000 cafe seats across the U.S. by the end of fiscal 2026.
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Faster, more reliable operations across in-store and mobile
Green Apron Service is fully rolled out in North America company-operated stores. Starbucks linked it to improving service times and throughput, supported by its Smart Queue algorithm, with average cafe and drive-thru service times below its four-minute targets in the quarter.
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Loyalty and menu innovation to lift frequency
A reimagined Starbucks Rewards program is slated to launch March 10 with new tiers and benefits, aiming to deepen engagement in a revenue stream that already represents a large share of U.S. company-operated sales.
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China growth through a new operating structure
Starbucks expects the Boyu Capital transaction to close in Spring 2026. Guidance assumes China remains company-operated in the second half of fiscal 2026, while management also outlined that a joint venture structure would lower consolidated revenues and comps, partly offset by better operating margins, with an estimated roughly 40 basis point annualized margin lift and a $0.02 to $0.03 EPS headwind versus current guidance. Proceeds are earmarked for debt reduction.
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Outlook and challenges

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For fiscal 2026, Starbucks guided to global and U.S. comparable sales growth of 3% or greater, EPS of $2.15 to $2.40, and about 600 to 650 net new coffeehouses, with China representing close to half of international net new stores. Pressure points include elevated coffee pricing and tariffs, labor investment tied to the turnaround, and execution risk while restructuring. Starbucks also continued a restructuring effort announced in September 2025 that included corporate role reductions and store closures.

This Company Profile was written by Dominik Diemer

Dominik Diemer blends an investor mindset with execution discipline.

He is a SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) and Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) practitioner at DMG MORI Digital, working as a SAFe Release Train Engineer and internal consultant in the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE).

His focus is prioritization, flow, and dependency management that turns strategy into outcomes. With experience across Bertelsmann and the Founders Foundation, he bridges corporate and startup thinking.

He also invests privately in private equity deals, sharpening his view on business models, value drivers, and go-to-market.

StockCounterParts reflects that lens.

Dominik Diemer

Founder of StockCounterparts.com