Supply chain

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373 paragraphs · Retail-Eating & Drinking Places show all sectors

Various factors, events, or conditions may result in a diminution or erosion of trust in our brand value. Adverse developments pertaining to the matters discussed elsewhere in this risk factors section may negatively impact the value of our brands. Such developments may include difficulties executing strategic initiatives, adapting to shifting consumer preferences, or managing global operations, and challenges stemming from macroeconomic volatility, supply chain pressures and disruptions, or an evolving competitive, regulatory, social, and geopolitical landscape. The impact of such developments on the value of our brands may be exacerbated if they receive considerable publicity or if they result in litigation. The value of our brands may be affected by actual or perceived developments, whether isolated or recurring, whether the result of actions by us or our business partners or the result of external developments, and whether such developments are in our control. Negative commentary about Starbucks, even if inaccurate or malicious, has in the past, and could in the future, damage the value of our brand, and adverse impacts may be compounded by social media, video-sharing, and messaging platforms that could dramatically increase the speed with which negative publicity may be disseminated, often before we have a meaningful opportunity to investigate, respond to, and address an issue. In addition, we cannot ensure that our store partners, licensees, or other business partners will not act or refrain from acting in a manner that adversely affects the value and relevance of our brand. Because brand value is based in part on consumer perceptions on a variety of subjective qualities, it may be difficult to address developments negatively impacting the value of our brands in a timely and effective manner to mitigate harm.

Read in the 10-K filed Nov 14, 2025 ↗

We undertake these initiatives in the context of ongoing efforts to adapt to shifting consumer behaviors amid economic volatility, optimize our mix of licensed and company-operated stores, expand relevant product offerings across dayparts, and drive growth in cold beverages and Channel Development partnerships, while also advancing appropriate sustainability efforts, managing climate-related risks, and reducing operating costs. Risks to successful and timely implementation of these initiatives include delays or cancellations of store openings due to labor or material shortages, permit procurement issues, or lack of suitable real estate; supply chain scalability and sustainability challenges; underperformance or delays in product innovation; remodel disruptions or cost overruns; coordination and execution challenges; failure to realize cost savings; increased taxation; regulatory constraints, including public health mandates; credit rating deterioration; and geopolitical instability. If these initiatives fail to deliver expected results or we do not fully realize their intended benefits, our financial performance may suffer. Additionally, prioritizing these efforts over other organizational needs or misallocating resources could materially impact our business and operating results.

Read in the 10-K filed Nov 14, 2025 ↗

Reports—whether accurate or not—of food- or beverage-safety issues such as contamination, mislabeling, or adulteration during any stage of production or preparation have historically harmed the reputations of companies in our industry. Any perceived association with such incidents, even if unfounded, could harm our reputation and materially impact our business and financial performance. Food-safety incidents involving competitors or shared suppliers, even if unrelated to Starbucks, could generate negative publicity and impact our sales regionally or globally. In addition, real or perceived concerns about food safety issues, such as phthalates, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), microplastics or heavy metals in the U.S. food supply chain, could impact consumers’ confidence in our offerings. Confirmed food-safety issues may also result in product recalls. A widespread product recall could lead to significant financial losses from recall costs, inventory destruction, lost sales, and reputational damage. Declines in customer traffic due to safety concerns, negative publicity, or store closures could adversely affect our operations.

Read in the 10-K filed Nov 14, 2025 ↗

•Operational and supply chain challenges abroad, including staffing, logistics, product consistency, and cultural or language barriers;

Read in the 10-K filed Nov 14, 2025 ↗

Coffee supply and pricing are influenced by factors in producing countries, including weather and extreme weather events, water availability, natural disasters, crop disease, input costs, inventory levels, political and economic conditions, and actions by organizations seeking to influence global prices. Climate change may intensify these risks—for example, droughts or frosts in Brazil have in the past driven price increases. Speculative trading also contributes to volatility. Tariffs have also affected, and in the future may affect, our costs to procure coffee. Given coffee’s central role in our operations and our limited ability to fully hedge against price increases, rising costs or supply shortages could materially impact our profitability and ability to meet customer demand. We supply strategic products, including coffee, to our licensees, and we may have limited ability to pass along increased costs.

Read in the 10-K filed Nov 14, 2025 ↗

We also rely on significant quantities of dairy products and plant-based alternatives, such as oat and almond milk, as well as other commodities including tea, cocoa, produce, meats, eggs, energy, and packaging materials. Price increases or supply disruptions—whether due to shortages, processing delays, tariffs, or other factors—could materially affect our profitability, particularly in international markets.

Read in the 10-K filed Nov 14, 2025 ↗

Even without acute disruptions, our supply chain may not fully meet current or future business needs. We cannot guarantee that suppliers will support our growth or continue providing products at current volumes or favorable prices and other terms. Delays or cost inefficiencies in supply could impair growth and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results. Inaccurate sales forecasting or insufficient inventory may lead to expedited shipping costs, stockouts, and diminished customer and partner satisfaction. Conversely, overestimating demand—especially for new products—can result in inventory write-offs. Failure to scale and improve forecasting, planning, production, and logistics could frustrate customers, reduce sales, and harm our brand reputation.

Read in the 10-K filed Nov 14, 2025 ↗

Any material disruption to our supply chain—such as the loss of a roasting plant, logistics interruptions, trade restrictions, pandemics, labor shortages, natural disasters, or geopolitical conflicts—could materially impact our business and profitability. We rely on a broad network of domestic and international suppliers to provide high-quality products in compliance with applicable laws, and in certain cases, products are sourced by our licensees directly. As we update our fresh and prepared food offerings, sourcing from regions with limited infrastructure or political instability may present additional challenges. For certain products, we depend on a limited number of suppliers, and their failure to meet our standards, deliver on time, or comply with regulations—factors often beyond our control—could materially harm our operations and financial results.

Read in the 10-K filed Nov 14, 2025 ↗

We recognize that climate-related risks are inherent to global business operations. Climate change can affect the supply and pricing of coffee and other non-coffee inputs due to weather volatility, water scarcity, and other environmental factors in producing regions. It may also impact water availability across our supply chain and markets. Operating in 89 global markets, our properties and operations are increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events—such as wildfires and droughts—which may disrupt operations, close stores, affect customers and suppliers, and increase costs, potentially resulting in financial losses.

Read in the 10-K filed Nov 14, 2025 ↗

We rely extensively on interconnected information technology systems to support our operations, including point-of-sale, mobile ordering, payments, supply chain management, loyalty programs, and administrative functions. We also depend on third-party providers for key systems and services, which may lack full redundancy within or across markets. Our growth initiatives—particularly those involving digital engagement and convenience-led formats—depend heavily on the reliability and performance of these systems. Any failure, inadequacy, inefficiency, or interruption could disrupt operations and adversely affect financial results. Our contractual and operational safeguards may not be effective in preventing the failure of these systems or services to operate effectively and be available. Failures—whether due to outages, cyber-attacks, software flaws, misconfigurations, or other disruptions—could materially impact product availability, operational efficiency, and financial performance. If our incident response and recovery plans are ineffective or delayed, remediation efforts may incur significant, unplanned costs.

Read in the 10-K filed Nov 14, 2025 ↗