Trouble’s Brewing: Starbucks Former CEO Is Stirring The Pot Ahead of Tuesday’s Earnings

Remember the juicy story I covered a couple days ago about the Marvel billionaire trying to stage a coup against Disney? Well, take a sip of your venti oat-milk, triple-shot, vanilla latte, because we’ve got another household name with some more drama. 

Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, is not a fan of a potential deal between Starbucks and the tireless activist investor, Elliott Investment Management.

Even though he doesn’t have an official role anymore, Schultz is making sure the board knows he’s not happy. With $1.6 billion invested in Starbucks, he’s not exactly keeping quiet. Meanwhile, Elliott, known for their aggressive tactics, has scooped up a big chunk of Starbucks, worth $86 billion. They’re pushing for changes, like getting seats on the board, to whip Starbucks back into shape. But so far, Schultz and Elliott haven’t had a heart-to-heart over a frappuccino.

A source close to Schultz mentioned that since he left the board a year ago, his few interactions have been all about keeping Starbucks’ values and culture intact. Schultz, who’s led Starbucks three times (because twice just wasn’t enough), last served as interim CEO from 2022 to 2023 before Laxman Narasimhan took over. Now, as chair emeritus, Schultz is still very much involved, but he doesn’t have access to all the financial details.

Schultz hasn’t been shy about expressing his disappointment with Starbucks’ recent performance. Like a full-blown keyboard warrior he’s taken to LinkedIn and podcasts to urge senior leaders and board members to spend more time with frontline employees. He blames the company’s struggles on both external pressures and internal mismanagement.

And he might be onto something. Starbucks is in a bit of a meltdown. Since the start of 2024, their share price has tanked by about 20%. The latest earnings report was like a cold cup of coffee, revealing a 4% decline in quarterly store sales—the first dip since late 2020. To add insult to injury, their operating income dropped 17% year over year. Oh, and let’s not overlook the fact that the stock has plummeted 25% since 2019. With the fiscal third-quarter results just around the corner on Tuesday, shareholders are hoping this nightmare run will finally come to and end.

In the past year, Starbucks has shuffled its board, bringing in new members like YouTube CEO Neal Mohan and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert, while Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has exited. But the desperate straw grasping isn’t fooling anyone.

Starbucks needs to act fast. As they face boycotts over employee treatment and controversial comments on the Israel-Hamas war, Dutch Bros is rapidly gaining ground. If they manage to convert loyal customers (like my wife), the downward trend for Starbucks' stock might only get worse.

Stock.News has positions in Starbucks and Disney.