In his first quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts as Starbucks CEO on Wednesday night, Brian Niccol offered investors and employees alike something they've long been longing for: clarity and decisiveness.
The last few years have been bumpy ones for the coffee-store chain. The company has been through four CEOs since 2022, and has jumped between different strategies. The result is often-chaotic store operations, three consecutive quarters of declining same-store sales, and a brand gone adrift. Niccol, who turned around Chipotle Mexican Grill before joining Starbucks, was hired away from the burrito chain in August to arrest Starbucks' decline. Wall Street was so relieved at the news that shares of the coffee company shot up 24% the day his new role was announced.
