Starbucks Stock Surges 15% as CEO Niccol's Turnaround Plan Brews Up Investor Confidence Before Earnings

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Starbucks shares have surged nearly 15 percent year-to-date in 2026, marking their strongest start in five years and brewing up a third straight weekly gain as investors bet on CEO Brian Niccols turnaround magic. According to AlphaStreet, analysts expect mixed Q1 2026 earnings on January 28 with revenue up over 2 percent to 9.64 billion dollars but earnings per share down 14 percent to 0.59 dollars, fueled by global comparable sales growth of 1 percent in Q4 2025 from higher traffic, though US comps stayed flat. William Blair upgraded the stock to Outperform per Stocktwits, predicting the first domestic sales gain in two years and margin recovery by 2030, while Bank of America hiked its price target to 114 dollars. The real buzz hit Thursday when Starbucks announced its 2026 Investor Day on January 29, Business Wire reports, where Niccol and CFO Cathy Smith will unveil the long-term growth strategy via webcast, a pivotal moment that could cement Niccols Back to Starbucks reinvention with coffeehouse coaches in every US store by years end per Simply Wall St. Even Jim Cramer on CNBC gushed that Niccol will pull off the fix by slashing menu clutter, speeding service, and upgrading stores amid pricing wars with McDonalds and Dunkin. Gossip mill churned over a Los Angeles barista fired January 12 for doodling the viral John Pork pig meme on off-duty deputy Brandon Longorias cup, sparking social media firestorm as Clypian notes it violated Niccols new positive-doodle policy, with the cop calling it disrespectful online. No fresh public appearances from execs, but institutional holders like Retirement Systems of Alabama upped stakes per MarketBeat, and retail chatter on Stocktwits spiked 129 percent bearish yet high-volume. High coffee costs and China rivals like Luckin loom, but this stock rally whispers hope for Starbucks revival.

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