Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX) shares are rising Thursday as investors position ahead of the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, due after the market closes. Here’s what you should know.
- Starbucks shares are trending higher. Why is SBUX stock advancing?
Starbucks Stock Rises Ahead of Earnings
Starbucks shares are higher Thursday, hours before the company reports its fiscal fourth-quarter results. Wall Street projects 72 cents per share in earnings and $9.23 billion in revenue.
Last quarter, Starbucks said comparable store sales, which track sales at stores open for a while, rose 7.9% worldwide. More transactions and bigger average tickets drove the gain. The company said it has now grown those sales four quarters in a row and widened its margins two quarters in a row.
The sale of its China retail operations dragged revenue 1% lower, to a total of $9.3 billion last quarter. Adjusted earnings still jumped 70% from a year earlier to 85 cents a share.
Starbucks Raised its Outlook Last Quarter
Starbucks lifted its fiscal 2026 targets along with those results, guiding for adjusted earnings in a range from $2.55 up to $2.65 per share for the year. The company also expects an adjusted operating margin above 11.0% and revenue that is little changed to slightly up.
On sales at established stores, Starbucks wants U.S. growth of at least 6.5% in the fourth quarter and a little above 6.0% for the full year. It plans between 600 and 650 additional stores, net of closures.
The estimates frame what comes next. Results above them would suggest the “Back to Starbucks” strategy is still working and would back the raised forecast.
Results below them would cast doubt on that forecast, end the streak of quarterly sales growth and put the wider margins at risk. The estimates already sit below last quarter’s results, at 72 cents against 85 cents adjusted and $9.23 billion against $9.3 billion in revenue.
SBUX Shares Are Moving Higher
SBUX Price Action: Starbucks shares were up 1.01% at $104.24 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Starbucks is trading above its major trend gauges, sitting 7.1% above the 20-day SMA ($97.35) and 4.5% above the 200-day SMA ($99.78), which supports the idea that the intermediate trend has improved.
From a levels standpoint, the stock is approaching an area where rallies have recently struggled, and it’s also not far from the 52-week high ($110.51) set in August. If price can’t clear that zone cleanly, traders will watch whether pullbacks stay contained above the faster moving averages rather than sliding back into the prior October swing-low area.
- Key Resistance: $109.00 — a nearby round-number zone just below the 52-week high area where rebounds can stall
- Key Support: $93.00 — a prior demand zone well below current price that lines up with the broader post-October base area
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