Bloomberg Intelligence Starbucks Sales Accelerate as Turnaround Gains Steam
Jan 28, 2026
Andrea Felsted, Bloomberg Opinion columnist analyzing luxury trends. Caroline Hyde, tech journalist covering chipmakers, Amazon and AI. John Butler, telecom analyst on AT&T and broadband strategy. They discuss Starbucks’ turnaround and cost plans. They cover AT&T’s fiber push and telecom competition. They dig into ASML’s record orders, Amazon’s corporate cuts and SoftBank’s big AI moves, plus LVMH’s mixed holiday sales.
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Operations-Led Turnaround Driving Growth
- Starbucks' turnaround shows improvement from operations and marketing changes that boost speed and customer return visits.
- China sales are recovering and the U.S. benefits from faster service and food innovations that lifted same-store sales.
Reallocate Labor First, Trim Costs Next
- Starbucks plans to chase $2 billion of annual savings after restoring traffic with added labor in stores.
- Focus shifts from adding labor to selectively cutting costs now that operations and customer visits have improved.
Competitive Pressure From Niche Coffee Chains
- Competition for Starbucks is intensifying from Gen Z-focused chains and elevated local coffee shops across cities and suburbs.
- Starbucks is countering with health-forward items, better food quality, and afternoon drink innovation to defend share.