The world's largest coffee franchise, running Deep Brew AI on Microsoft Azure
Starbucks Corp
Starbucks is the world's largest coffee franchise, with revenue tracking three clocks: consumer spending, China operations and coffee-bean prices. Fiscal 2025 (ended September 2025) net revenue was $37.2 billion, 82.7% from company-operated stores, across 40,990 stores including 8,011 in China. On the cost side it runs its own AI platform, Deep Brew, on Microsoft Azure to automate personalized recommendations and inventory and store operations.
SBUX Updated Jul 5, 2026 3 AI consumers
Per the valuechain.wiki graph, Starbucks Corp is directly linked to 3 companies (1 supply, 2 revenue relationships) and reaches 29 companies within two hops; the links are backed by 8 dated sources, 2 of them primary filings (as of 2026-07-05).
Financials & Segments
- Total revenue · Net revenue $37.2B (+3%)
- Customer concentration · Centered on the US and China (8,011 China stores of 40,990 total); Rewards loyalty members drive repeat visits
- Segments · Company-operated stores · Licensed stores · Other / channel development
Revenue from
- 소비자·직영점 (company-operated) High confidence· Amount $30.7B · FY2025 · Company-operated store revenue (82.7% of net revenue)
Coffee and beverages sold to consumers at company-operated stores are 82.7% of revenue ($30.7B), so revenue tracks consumer spending and China operations as a proxy.Confirms EN Starbucks (IR) Published Oct 29, 2025: Starbucks Reports Q4 and Full Fiscal Year 2025 Results - E-mart Inc. High confidence· Market share 67.5% · 2021~ · E-Mart stake in SCK
E-mart holds 67.5% of Starbucks Korea (SCK), which pays license royalties to Starbucks. For Starbucks, E-mart (via SCK) is a royalty revenue source.Confirms EN GIC Published Jul 27, 2021: Starbucks Transitions Retail Business in South Korea to E-Mart and GIC - Nestlé S.A. High confidence· Amount 7.15 USD10억 · 2018 선급 · Starbucks CPG rights acquisition (perpetual license)
Under the 2018 Global Coffee Alliance, Nestlé acquired perpetual rights to Starbucks CPG products and pays royalties. For Starbucks, Nestlé is that royalty revenue source. - 라이선스 파트너·채널 (licensed·CPG) Medium confidence· Amount $4.4B · FY2025 · Licensed-store revenue (11.7% of net revenue)
Licensed-store revenue of $4.4B (11.7%) and channel development/CPG of $2.1B, the capital-light way to extend the store network.Confirms EN Starbucks (IR) Published Oct 29, 2025: Starbucks Reports Q4 and Full Fiscal Year 2025 Results - 리워드 멤버십 (충성 고객) Medium confidence
The Starbucks Rewards loyalty program drives repeat visits and prepaid loading, recycling consumer spend; US active members are around 34.6 million.Mentions EN Starbucks (IR) Published Oct 29, 2025: Starbucks Reports Q4 and Full Fiscal Year 2025 Results
Pays to
- 원두·커피 원자재 (비공개) High confidence
Green coffee (arabica) and related raw materials are a core cost; bean-price swings feed directly into cost and margin. Individual suppliers and prices undisclosed. - 인건비·임대 (비공개) High confidence
Store labor and rent are large, largely fixed costs; US wage increases and intensifying China competition are margin swing factors. Details undisclosed. - Microsoft High confidence
Runs its own AI platform, Deep Brew, on Microsoft Azure, using Azure machine learning and reinforcement learning for personalized recommendations and to automate inventory, Mastrena machine upkeep and store operations. The AI is a cost-side capability, not a revenue line.Confirms EN Microsoft (Source) Published Jan 6, 2020: Starbucks turns to technology to brew up a more personal connection with its customers
Value-chain ripple (2 tiers)
Following node-to-node links up to 2 tiers; each firm is shown once, at its nearest tier.
| Company | Chain | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 | '25 | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart Inc | lead2 | +2 | -0.5 | +12.9 | +74 | +24.5 | +2.6 |
| Nestlé S.A. | lead1 | +22.1 | -4.2 | -9.3 | -18.8 | -1.8 | +17.9 |
| E-mart Inc. | lead1 | -18.4 | -19.5 | -25.3 | -14.6 | +44.7 | -7.8 |
| Starbucks Corp | node | +11.1 | -13.2 | -1.2 | -2.5 | -5.3 | +27.4 |
| Microsoft | benef1 | +52.5 | -28 | +58.2 | +12.9 | +15.6 | -20 |
| Western Digital | benef2 | +17.7 | -51.6 | +66 | +13.9 | +283.7 | +238.4 |
| Seagate Technology | benef2 | +87.5 | -51.4 | +69.1 | +4.1 | +225.3 | +231.4 |
| Intel | benef2 | +6.1 | -46.6 | +94.6 | -59.6 | +84 | +197.7 |
| Marvell | benef2 | +84.6 | -57.5 | +63.7 | +83.8 | -22.8 | +177.8 |
| AMD | benef2 | +56.9 | -55 | +127.6 | -18.1 | +77.3 | +160.5 |
| Astera Labs | benef2 | · | · | · | · | +25.6 | +148.2 |
| Ciena | benef2 | +45.6 | -33.8 | -11.7 | +88.4 | +175.8 | +97 |
| Vertiv | benef2 | +33.8 | -45.3 | +251.8 | +136.8 | +42.8 | +96.9 |
| Credo Technology | benef2 | · | · | +46.3 | +245.2 | +114.1 | +79.2 |
| GE Vernova | benef2 | · | · | · | · | +99 | +67.3 |
| Caterpillar | benef2 | +16 | +18.6 | +25.9 | +24.7 | +60.3 | +67 |
| Wiwynn | benef2 | +24.7 | -22.3 | +206.4 | +3.5 | +64.4 | +45.1 |
| Arista Networks | benef2 | +97.9 | -15.6 | +94.1 | +87.7 | +18.5 | +42.7 |
| Equinix | benef2 | +20.3 | -21.1 | +25.4 | +19.5 | -16.9 | +38.6 |
| Quanta Computer | benef2 | +22.2 | -12.8 | +254.5 | +12.7 | +8.9 | +33.4 |
| Cummins | benef2 | -1.7 | +14.1 | +1.7 | +48.9 | +49.4 | +33.3 |
| Eaton | benef2 | +46.7 | -7.2 | +56.2 | +39.5 | -2.8 | +28.6 |
| NVIDIA | benef2 | +125.5 | -50.3 | +239 | +171.2 | +38.9 | +13.3 |
| Schneider Electric | benef2 | +25.9 | +1.6 | +25.8 | +36.1 | +0.5 | +13 |
| Foxconn (Hon Hai) | benef2 | -5.1 | +2.8 | +7.8 | +80.1 | +26.9 | +10.9 |
| IREN | benef2 | · | -92.3 | +472 | +37.3 | +284.6 | +8.9 |
| Super Micro | benef2 | +38.8 | +86.8 | +246.2 | +7.2 | -4 | -3.3 |
| IonQ | benef2 | · | -79.3 | +259.1 | +237.1 | +7.4 | -4.5 |
| Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. | benef2 | · | · | +45.6 | +39.7 | -0.2 | -9 |
| Constellation Energy | benef2 | · | · | +37.2 | +92.7 | +58.8 | -28.6 |
YTD as of 2026-07-10 · source: Yahoo Finance
Starbucks Corp is the world's largest coffee franchise, running Deep Brew AI on Microsoft Azure. It is +27.9% in 2026. The stock (+27.9%) is ahead of both its demand side (avg +4.9%) and supply side (avg -20.2%). Having run ahead of its chain, it is the first spot to give back if customer numbers fail to follow. Among connected nodes the furthest ahead is Nestlé S.A. (+17.6%) and the furthest behind is Microsoft (-20.2%). If chain logic explains the gap, the laggard is the next propagation candidate; if not, the link itself deserves a second look. On the cost side it runs its own AI platform, Deep Brew, on Microsoft Azure to automate personalized recommendations and inventory and store operations.
Analysis generated from returns as of 2026-07-09Analyst ratings
Consensus: Buy 2 · Hold 1 · Sell 1 · Avg. target $113 · Price $106.01 (07-10) · Upside +7%
| Broker | Rating | Target | Published | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BNP Paribas Exane | Underperform | — | May 14, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| TD Cowen · Andrew Charles | Buy | $120 | May 14, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| Stifel Nicolaus · Chris O'Cull | Buy | $117 | May 6, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| Citigroup · Jon Tower | Neutral | $101 | Apr 29, 2026 | Report ↗ |
Initiates coverage at Underperform on valuation and recovery uncertainty, the most cautious of the coverage.
Analyses covering this node
- Consumption does not run on one clock: staples, discretionary, luxury diverge Jul 5, 2026
- AI money stays inside the chain: consumption and capital run on other clocks Jul 5, 2026