CluenexStarbucks Corporation SBUX
Starbucks Corporation scores average on business quality (5.2 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Starbucks Corporation does
Starbucks operates retail coffee shops, selling beverages and food directly to consumers globally. Revenue flows primarily through company-operated stores and licensed locations.
- What it does best
Starbucks holds a dominant global brand presence, generating $38.3B in revenue. Unlike peers like McDonald's with a 57.4% gross margin, Starbucks operates at a 22.3% gross margin due to higher labor and input costs.
- The main risk
Slowing top-line growth at 2.8% leaves little room for execution missteps as traffic shifts.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin stands at 10.3% with an FCF margin near 9.5%. Margins are stable as cost controls offset slower traffic. Scale provides modest efficiency rather than explosive margin gains.
The brand and retail footprint form its moat, locking in daily consumers. Its operating margin ranks in the 41st percentile of its sector, indicating moderate pricing power that rivals can challenge.
Revenue grew 2.8%, showing a slower rate compared to historical periods. Growth is dragging against its own history as volume expansion moderates.
Interest coverage sits at 7.1x, meaning operating earnings cover debt costs adequately. Free cash flow reached $3.6B, showing solid generation. The balance sheet carries $12.6B in net debt, getting softer.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on SBUX
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Starbucks Corporation scores average on the Cluenex quality check (5.2 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is fair, moat fair, growth slow and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Oct 27, 2026, after the close.
See SBUX today
- Today's verdict on SBUX, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Starbucks Corporation (SBUX)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/sbux/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.