SBUX Stock Jumps After-Hours On Strong 2026 Sales Guidance; Q2 Sales Top Estimates

• SBUX  sees comparable sales rising at least 5% this year, up from its previous view of 3%.  
• Co beats Q2 sales expectations as CEO’s turnaround plans bear fruit.
• Order growth in the U.S. offsets slower growth in China.

Starbucks (SBUX) share price jumped 6% after-hours after the coffee shop chain reported robust Q2 sales that beat expectations, while raising its full-year sales guidance. 

The company said it expects comparable store sales growth of 5% or more for fiscal year 2026, both globally and in the U.S., up from its previous view of 3%. It said it expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.25 to $2.45, higher than expectations of $2.28.

The strong sales show CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround strategies, which included investments in store upgrades and more barista hours, are finally paying off. 

“Our second quarter marked the turn in our turnaround as our Back to Starbucks plan drove both top and bottom line growth,” commented Brian Niccol, chairman and chief executive officer. “This is the Starbucks our customers deserve and the Starbucks we believe will deliver long-term growth and value for our partners and shareholders as we execute consistently, at-scale.”

In the quarter ending March, comparable sales rose 6.2%, exceeding analysts’ expectations for a 3.7% increase. Adjusted earnings of $0.50 per share also surpassed the average of estimates of $0.44, as per estimates collated by Fiscal.ai.

However, in China, the coffee chain’s second largest market, comparable sales rose 0.5%, short of expectations. 

SBUX Tariff And Coffee Pricing Pressures 

Starbucks expects the impact from tariffs and the recent jump in coffee prices to be moderate for the second half of 2026.

“About half of the product and distribution increase was driven by innovation-led product mix, and the remaining balance was inflation, largely related to tariffs and elevated coffee prices,” Starbucks said in a statement. 

“While market dynamics can change, we expect these tariff and coffee pressures to moderate in the back half of fiscal 2026, especially given recent trends in coffee prices.”

Analyst View On SBUX

Late last week, BofA analyst Sara Senatore raised the firm's price target on Starbucks to $130 from $120 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares, while JPMorgan analyst John Ivankoe raised the firm's price target to $100 from $95 with an ‘Overweight’ rating on the shares. 

Stifel analyst Chris O'Cull, earlier last week, increased the firm's price target on Starbucks to $115 from $105 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. 

Retail View On SBUX

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was ‘extremely bullish’ with ‘extremely high’ message volumes. 

One user expressed enthusiasm for the CEO’s turnaround plans. 

Another user showed a bullish outlook, stating that SBUX outlets are always packed. 

The stock gained 15.5% year-to-date.