Starbucks lays out 2028 targets as analysts highlight 'beatable' goals

Investing.com -- Starbucks’ 2026 investor day drew positive reactions from analysts, with Bernstein and Morgan Stanley saying the company outlined a clear strategy, achievable financial targets and early signs of operational progress.

Bernstein said the long-term algorithm was “largely beatable,” citing the company’s fiscal 2028 earnings per share range of $3.35 to $4.

Analyst Danilo Gargiulo wrote that reaching the high end “would require Starbucks to consistently reach 3% comp and realizing all the $2B gross savings,” conditions the firm sees as “easily” attainable through store reinvention, innovation and digital initiatives.

Bernstein said below-inflation pricing and minimal mix benefits in the guidance strengthen the case that Starbucks “could surpass its goals,” adding that food attachment and the expansion of the protein platform alone could lift checks by 6 percent to 9 percent over the next few years.

Morgan Stanley said the event “offered something for both camps,” with financial targets that “generally brackets our own estimates.”

Analyst Brian Harbour highlighted the company’s ambition to re-establish itself as consumers’ “third place,” supported by rewards revamps, new platforms and renewed investment in stores.

While cost-saving specifics remain limited, Morgan Stanley pointed to “almost 100 projects” tied to the $2 billion gross savings plan, though it noted that the “cost picture still needs to be filled in.”

Bernstein reiterated an Outperform rating on SBUX, while Morgan Stanley maintained its Overweight view.

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