Starbucks Corporation

Starbucks Corporation is the global coffee-and-tea retailer, operating over 40,000 stores worldwide. The stock is up 25% YTD as the multi-year turnaround under new leadership finally shows in the numbers — Q4 delivered a 29% EPS beat, and the tape is now at 98% of the 52-week range.

• The recent quarterly print delivered the beat: Q4 EPS $0.85 vs $0.66 estimate (+29% beat), and the last four EPS surprises were +29%, +18%, and beats — the pattern is a business converting the operating discipline into printed results, and management commentary on same-store sales acceleration is what the bulls anchor on.
• The strategic positioning is durable: consensus models FY26 revenue at $37.8B rising to $38.6B by FY27 with EPS climbing from $2.39 to $3.05 — plus operating margin recovery from the recent 8% level back toward 13%+ is what would validate the 78x trailing P/E and the 3.1x P/S multiple.
• The counterweights are honest: 78x trailing P/E on the depressed trailing EPS is not cheap, and 98% of the 52-week range means the tape has room for a further re-rate but also for a pullback if the Q1 FY27 print (typically late October) doesn't confirm the same-store-sales trajectory — plus small insider selling from officer Brady Brewer ($236K on August 6) adds honest supply.

The October 28 Q1 FY27 print is the reality check — a same-store-sales acceleration to positive plus an operating margin re-expansion above 10% is what extends the accelerating tape above $115. A comp-sales miss (particularly in the US market or China), a specific labor-cost or coffee-input inflation surprise, or a fresh insider-selling cluster is what would take a name at 98% of 52w range off the highs first.