NEW YORK, May 16, 2026, 10:11 EDT
Starbucks Corp shares are trading close to a 52-week high ahead of the next Nasdaq session, after the company said it is cutting 300 U.S. corporate jobs and shutting several regional support offices. The move doesn’t hit cafe workers. It’s part of CEO Brian Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” turnaround. Investors now have to weigh if the latest cost cuts point to discipline or strain. Reuters
The market is closed for the weekend, so the real test comes Monday. SBUX finished Friday at $106.82, up 0.4% for the session and gaining about 1.8% over the week. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.5% in a broader U.S. decline on rising oil and yields, but SBUX still held under its May 14 peak at $108.88.
Starbucks says the outperformance counts here. The company has told shareholders to sit tight as it puts more money into pay, stores, and service. Friday’s filing puts the focus on how long it’ll take before those costs start to help profits hold up.
The board on May 13 cleared more moves under the “Back to Starbucks” plan, Starbucks said, as it looks to refresh stores and boost how customers are served. The company is planning about $400 million in restructuring charges: about $280 million non-cash, mainly on accounting write-downs, and another $120 million in cash, most of that for employee separation benefits. SEC
The sales story isn’t falling apart. For the fiscal second quarter, global comparable store sales were up 6.2%. U.S. comps added 7.1%. Net revenue jumped 9% to $9.5 billion. Niccol called it “the turn in our turnaround.” Chief Financial Officer Cathy Smith said cost discipline was showing up in margins—profit from operations as a share of revenue. Starbucks Investor Relations
Starbucks is cutting jobs in support roles like marketing, HR, and supply chain, and is closing offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and some other cities. The company said it’s going to open a new Nashville corporate office, which could bring up to 2,000 jobs over five years.
Starbucks got a boost from TD Cowen as analyst Andrew Charles moved the stock to Buy and took his price target to $120. Charles said the company’s turnaround phase is just getting started, noting positives like margin recovery as coffee prices come down, $2 billion in planned gross cost cuts, and leverage from sales growth outpacing expenses.
Starbucks is facing tough competition in China, its main overseas market. Reuters said last month that Starbucks wrapped up its Boyu Capital deal, handing Boyu a 60% share in Starbucks’ China outlets. Starbucks keeps 40% and licenses its brand under the new structure, in a move aimed at fending off cheaper Chinese competitors Luckin and Cotti. Starbucks China CEO Molly Liu said the agreement will bring “hyper-localization.” Reuters
But the risk is still there. Labor tension hangs over reputation and operations: United Nations human-rights experts called on Starbucks and the U.S. government to answer union-busting charges, while Starbucks said it is negotiating fairly and that unionized baristas make up roughly 4% of U.S. stores. If job cuts, bargaining, or cost pressures bite into service progress, the turnaround could get repriced fast.
Heading into Monday, traders are watching for any updates from Starbucks on its international support review, shifts in analyst earnings estimates after the recent charge, and signs that the U.S. market might calm following Friday’s drop. The next full-day holiday for Nasdaq is Memorial Day, May 25, so trading will run as usual on Monday, May 18.
Near-term view is cautiously positive but conditions remain tight. If markets settle down, SBUX could see another run at $108.88. A clear break above brings buyers in. If SBUX falls through $105, Friday’s bounce may prove more a pause than a real breakout.
