It’s been a tough year for Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX). The king of coffee retail chains has seen its stock slide more than 25% from its year-to-date (YTD) high on Feb. 23, and when it reported Q3 earnings on July 29, it missed analysts’ estimates by nearly 28%.
While some of that may reflect cyclical consumer behavior amid all-time high coffee prices—both as a global commodity and for U.S. retail prices—Starbucks has also suffered from poor optics. Multi-year protests by labor union supporters as well as a boycott campaign rooted in the Israel-Gaza conflict has bled into 2025, significantly impacting the company’s sales.
