Starbucks Corp

Starbucks delivered a split verdict in its fiscal third quarter of 2025, posting revenue that edged past Wall Street's expectations while earnings fell well short, underscoring how much heavy lifting the company's turnaround still requires. Revenue rose 3.8% year-over-year to $9.46 billion, clearing the $9.31 billion consensus by 1.58%, but non-GAAP EPS of $0.50 missed the $0.65 estimate by 22.56%, tumbling 46% from the prior-year period. The sharpest culprit was a combination of one-time investments, including a three-day Leadership Experience conference for more than 14,000 coffeehouse managers, and a discrete tax item that together shaved roughly $0.11 from earnings, pushing the effective tax rate to 31.8% from 24.8% a year ago. Global comparable store sales declined 2%, with North America comps falling the same amount, though China offered a relative bright spot with a 2% comp gain. CEO Brian Niccol declared the turnaround is "ahead of schedule" and promised a wave of product innovation in fiscal 2026, a pledge that analysts are watching closely given the ongoing tension between ambitious reinvention and the need for faster, more consistent service.