What is William Blair's Forecast for Starbucks Q4 Earnings?

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) - Analysts at William Blair decreased their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Starbucks in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 30th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now forecasts that the coffee company will earn $0.70 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.88. The consensus estimate for Starbucks' current full-year earnings is $2.99 per share.

Several other research firms also recently commented on SBUX. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Baird R W cut Starbucks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Starbucks from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Starbucks from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Securities cut their price target on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.15.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX stock traded up $2.68 during trading on Thursday, reaching $84.69. The company had a trading volume of 13,504,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,361,004. Starbucks has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $117.46. The company has a market cap of $96.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.39.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.10). Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks's payout ratio is 78.71%.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,244,812,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Starbucks by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 54,924,230 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $5,011,796,000 after purchasing an additional 9,174,682 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $2,292,989,000 after purchasing an additional 5,348,790 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Starbucks by 167.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,690,198 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $519,230,000 after purchasing an additional 3,563,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 218.7% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,552,921 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $446,596,000 after buying an additional 3,124,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

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.