NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 19:11 ET — Market closed
- Starbucks shares last closed down 1.22% at $84.21 on Dec. 31, the final trading day of 2025.
- CEO Brian Niccol said the company is “making progress” on raising customer-service standards. Business Insider
- Focus shifts to Jan. 27 earnings expectations and early-January U.S. labor and inflation data.
Starbucks Corp shares ended the last regular session of 2025 down 1.22% at $84.21, underperforming a broadly weaker market on Dec. 31. U.S. stock markets were closed on Thursday for New Year’s Day.
The slide keeps attention on CEO Brian Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” turnaround effort at a moment when investors want clearer evidence the changes can lift traffic and protect margins. Starbucks shares were down about 6% over 2025, Business Insider reported. Business Insider
On Dec. 31, the S&P 500 fell 0.74% and the Dow dropped 0.63%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.76%, according to market data. Starbucks lagged major food-and-beverage names including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and McDonald’s, which all declined less on the day.
Niccol told the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ Leadership Institute podcast that a Reddit thread about job interviews convinced him the culture shift was landing. “We’re making progress on what the standard of service is that we want,” he said. Business Insider
The CEO has pushed to make Starbucks cafés feel more like a “third place” — a place between home and work — as the company tries to address complaints about long waits and inconsistent experience. Steps have included adding seating, offering free coffee and tea refills, and encouraging baristas to write notes on cups, Business Insider reported. Business Insider
Starbucks has also leaned on menu refreshes to bring customers back. The company is preparing two new year-round matcha drinks and the return of raspberry syrup as a permanent flavor, alongside a limited-time collaboration tied to YouTuber MrBeast that includes a “Cannon Ball” drink starting Jan. 14 in the United States, People reported. People.com
Analyst sentiment stayed mixed into year-end. Zacks Research lowered its rating on Starbucks to “strong sell,” MarketBeat reported. MarketBeat
Trading was light ahead of the holiday, with about 5.3 million Starbucks shares changing hands versus a 50-day average of 9.7 million, MarketWatch data showed. The stock finished about 28% below its 52-week high of $117.46 set on March 3.
Before the next session on Friday, investors will be watching whether consumer and restaurant stocks regain footing as 2026 begins after a choppy close to the year. Starbucks was little changed over the past month, Nasdaq.com said.
Starbucks’ next major catalyst is its quarterly report. Yahoo Finance’s earnings calendar lists Starbucks as reporting on Jan. 27 after the close, with analysts expecting earnings per share — profit allocated to each share — of 59 cents.
Macro data that can reset rate expectations is due the following week, including the U.S. employment report for December on Jan. 9 and the consumer price index on Jan. 13, according to the Labor Department’s release schedule.
For Starbucks, traders will focus on comparable sales — also called same-store sales, a measure of sales at stores open at least a year — and whether operational changes show up in improved customer traffic and profitability. Niccol’s comments have put service consistency at the center of that test.
