Starbucks vs. Dutch Bros: A 74-point gap from the same $10,000 bet
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on November 9, 2026.
Same $10,000 into coffee on January 2, wildly different outcomes: Starbucks turned it into $13,196 while Dutch Bros left $5,795. That is a 74-point performance gap inside one sector in a single year.
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Starting from the same $10,000 on January 2, 2026, Starbucks and Dutch Bros delivered opposite outcomes one year later. Starbucks grew that stake to $13,196, while Dutch Bros left investors with just $5,795.
Dutch Bros shed nearly half its starting value over the period, so an investor who backed the wrong name in the coffee sector eroded a large portion of their capital while Starbucks shareholders collected a solid return.
Both companies compete in the same consumer category and would have encountered many of the same macro pressures around costs, spending patterns, and foot traffic. The 74-point performance gap opened at the company level.
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The divergence held for most of the year, with Dutch Bros touching a brief stretch near breakeven before resuming its slide to a final value of $5,795.
For anyone watching the coffee space, choosing between these two names over this single year was the difference between meaningfully growing a position and losing nearly half of it.
