Wedbush Issues Positive Estimate for Starbucks Earnings

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) – Equities researchers at Wedbush lifted their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Starbucks in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now anticipates that the coffee company will post earnings per share of $0.93 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.91. Wedbush currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Starbucks’ current full-year earnings is $3.00 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Starbucks’ Q4 2025 earnings at $0.90 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $3.06 EPS.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS.

SBUX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Redburn Atlantic restated a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.52.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX stock opened at $109.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $123.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $110.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.00.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after buying an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $248,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter worth $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Company Profile

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.