So coffee giant Starbucks (SBUX) is once again in hot water with its own employees, rolling out a new dress code for baristas. But Starbucks is also hitting back, defending its new stance. The defense seems to have rallied investors as well, and shares ticked up modestly in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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The dress code notion had some simple roots to it. The “Back to Starbucks” plan basically called for a more uniform look to it, which simplified things a bit and gave the stores a simpler and more approachable feel. On the surface, a lot of this seemed reasonable: black shirts, khaki pants or jeans, a green apron, a maximum of one facial piercing—not minimum—no face tattoos and no “theatrical makeup.”
However, Starbucks apparently expected employees to supply their own clothes under this policy, and were never actually reimbursed for the purchases. Starbucks, meanwhile, fired back, noting that it provided two shirts at no cost. It also pointed out, not for the first time, that partner turnover is at record low levels and that Starbucks is “…a great place to work.” Which raises one point immediately: Starbucks provided the shirts, yes…but from where did the pants arrive?
No Losers Here
Meanwhile, Starbucks managed to get out from another potential controversy around the Charlie Kirk assassination. A social media claim, which went viral, accused a Starbucks employee of writing “Loser” on the side of a cup meant in honor of Kirk. The resulting social media firestorm that followed was sufficient to shut down the shop for a while.
However, security video from the Starbucks in question shows that none of the workers actually wrote “Loser” on the side of that cup. Rather, Starbucks asserts, the note appeared “…to have been added after the beverage was handed off, likely by someone else.” Since the video footage has time-stamps included, that would suggest that Starbucks came out on the right side of history here.
Is Starbucks Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on SBUX stock based on 14 Buys, seven Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 13.15% loss in its share price over the past year, the average SBUX price target of $101.90 per share implies 20.78% upside potential.
