Starbucks Stock Rises Ahead of Q1 Earnings: Retail Sentiment Downbeat

Shares of Starbucks ($SBUX) have been in the spotlight recently, rising nearly 0.8% on Friday, ahead of the coffee chain’s first-quarter earnings, but retail sentiment turned bearish.

Starbucks is set to report earnings on Tuesday after the markets close. Analysts are reportedly watching for 2025 forecast updates amid what is shaping up to be a year of several management-led strategic changes at the company.

Wall Street analysts expect the company to report earnings per share of $0.67 on revenues of $9.33 billion, according to Stocktwits data.

Sentiment on Stocktwits was ‘bearish’ compared to ‘neutral’ a day ago. Message volumes in the meantime were ‘extremely high.’

Last week, Baird analyst David Tarantino said Starbucks shares are attractive at current levels, Fly.com reported. Baird maintains its ‘Outperform’ with a $116 price target. Meanwhile, Jefferies analysts have predicted a 6% decline in the company’s U.S. same-store sales due to concerns over declining foot traffic data, Investing.com reported.

Starbucks shares rose last week after the company reportedly made moves to restructure the company including potential layoffs.

Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol recently said in a letter to employees was seeking more accountability and reduce complexity and work silos, saying, “Our size and structure can slow us down, with too many layers, managers of small teams and roles focused primarily on coordinating work.”

The coffee industry, at large, may come under pressure with escalating trade tensions between the US and Colombia that could bring potential trade tariffs potentially making coffee costlier in the U.S. Trump recently ordered 25% retaliatory tariffs on Colombia's imports among other measures, according to media reports.

Starbucks is also seeing growing competition from cheaper alternatives from local brands in international markets where it operates.

A Stocktwits poll asked commenters on their take on the company’s strategy. About 30% of the respondents thought efficiency will drive growth, with 46% of respondents saying that recent cuts signal deeper issues.

Starbucks stock is up 8.28% year-to-date.

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