Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Return on Assets (ROA)

The ROA values show a fluctuating trend starting in late 2018, with no data provided initially until the period ending December 29, 2019, where it is reported at 18.73%. Following this peak, there is a noticeable decline over the subsequent periods, dropping sharply to 2.22% by approximately March 28, 2021. After this low, the ROA demonstrates a recovery phase, gradually increasing to 15.24% by July 3, 2022, followed by a mild decline and relatively stable values hovering around 11.7% to 14.7% through the year 2023 and early 2024. However, the most recent data indicates a downward slope again, with ROA falling to 7.82% by June 29, 2025. This pattern suggests periods of operational efficiency improvement interspersed with significant challenges, possibly linked to external economic factors or internal strategic changes.

Financial Leverage

There is no financial leverage data available for any period, preventing any analysis or trend observation.

Return on Equity (ROE)

No return on equity figures are present across the data set, and thus no conclusions can be drawn regarding equity profitability or shareholder return trends.

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin exhibits noticeable fluctuations over the observed periods. Starting at 13.58% in December 2018, it slightly increases to 13.81% by March 2019 before gradually decreasing to a low of 2.87% in December 2019 through June 2020, likely reflecting operational challenges during that timeframe. Subsequently, the margin experiences a recovery phase, peaking at 14.47% in October 2021. Thereafter, a gradual decline is observed, with margins falling to 7.18% by June 2025. The overall trend suggests periods of both contraction and expansion, with recent quarters indicating a downward pressure on profitability ratios.

Asset Turnover

Asset turnover starts from a ratio of 1.38 in December 2018 and declines steadily to approximately 0.77 by March 2020, indicating reduced efficiency in asset utilization during this period. Post-March 2020, there is a consistent improvement, peaking at 1.26 in June 2023, demonstrating enhanced productivity and potentially more effective use of assets. However, a mild decline follows, with the ratio trending downward to 1.09 by June 2025. This pattern reflects recovery and optimization efforts after an initial drop, followed by a slight reduction towards the end of the observed timeline.

Financial Leverage

No data is available for financial leverage across the reported periods, precluding analysis of leverage trends or their impact on overall capital structure and risk.

Return on Equity (ROE)

Return on equity figures are not provided, limiting the ability to assess shareholder returns or relate profitability to equity investment.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio exhibits a relatively stable trend from the available data starting in December 2019. It remains close to 0.8 initially, with minor fluctuations between 0.74 and 0.8 across the quarters. A slight declining tendency is observable towards the later periods, with the ratio decreasing gradually from around 0.78 to approximately 0.74 by mid-2025. This indicates a marginal reduction in the proportion of pre-tax profit retained after taxes over time.

Interest Burden

The interest burden ratio shows more variability. From late 2019 to mid-2020, there is a noticeable decline from about 0.93 to a low of 0.64, indicating increased interest expenses relative to operating income during the earlier part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following this dip, the ratio recovers steadily and stabilizes around 0.9 from late 2020 through mid-2025, suggesting improved management of interest costs or a reduced debt burden in subsequent periods.

EBIT Margin

The EBIT margin percentage shows significant fluctuation during the observed periods. Initially, in late 2019, it is relatively strong at around 18%, but it experiences a sharp decline reaching a low near 5.6% in the first quarter of 2021. After this trough, the margin recovers robustly, peaking above 20% in late 2021 and early 2022. Subsequently, a slow downward trend can be observed, with margins decreasing steadily to just above 11% by mid-2025. This pattern may reflect operational challenges and recovery phases aligned with broader market conditions and company-specific factors.

Asset Turnover

Asset turnover ratio data shows a clear U-shaped pattern. Starting higher near 1.38 in late 2019, it declines steadily to a low of approximately 0.77 in the first quarter of 2020. The ratio then improves consistently, crossing the 1.0 mark by early 2022, and remains above 1.0 thereafter with some minor fluctuations. It reaches near 1.26 around 2023 before slightly declining towards 1.09 by mid-2025. This indicates that the efficiency of asset utilization decreased sharply during the pandemic onset but subsequently improved as operations normalized and productivity increased.

Financial Leverage

There are no available data points for financial leverage across the periods, precluding any analysis or trend observation.

Return on Equity (ROE)

Return on equity data is not provided, thus no insights or trends can be drawn regarding shareholder return efficiency or profitability from equity in the given timeframe.

The quarterly financial data reveals several notable trends in profitability and efficiency ratios over the examined periods. The analysis primarily focuses on net profit margin, asset turnover, and return on assets (ROA).

Net Profit Margin (%)

The net profit margin experienced a peak in the year 2019 at a level above 13%, followed by a significant decline through 2020, reaching a low point of approximately 2.87% in early 2021. Post this trough, the margin demonstrated a recovery trend, climbing steadily to reach a high of around 14.47% by early 2022. Subsequently, there is a gradual decline from that peak, with margins falling to about 7.18% by mid-2025. This pattern indicates the impact of external challenges during 2020, with a recovery phase through 2021 and 2022, followed by a softening profitability trend more recently.

Asset Turnover (ratio)

Asset turnover showed a downward movement from late 2019 to mid-2020, decreasing from around 1.38 to a low of approximately 0.77. This decrease aligns temporally with the dip seen in net profit margin, suggesting reduced operational efficiency possibly due to economic or industry disruptions. From mid-2020 onward, asset turnover steadily increased, peaking around 1.26 in early 2023. Following this peak, the ratio experienced a slight decline, fluctuating near 1.0 to 1.15 levels toward mid-2025. Overall, the trend suggests recovery and stabilization in asset utilization ability post-2020 disruption, with some signs of moderation in the latest periods.

Return on Assets (ROA) (%)

The ROA trend closely mirrors the movements observed in net profit margin and asset turnover, underscoring its composite nature. ROA dropped significantly from levels near 18.73% in late 2019 to about 2.22% in early 2021, reflecting the adverse effects on profitability and asset efficiency amid challenging conditions. A robust recovery took place thereafter, with ROA reaching around 15.24% by mid-2022. In the subsequent periods, ROA declined progressively, ending near 7.82% by mid-2025. This cyclical pattern suggests responsiveness of asset returns to operational conditions and profitability trends over the analyzed timeframe.

In summary, the financial ratios demonstrate a clear impact from adverse conditions in 2020, with all three indicators—net profit margin, asset turnover, and ROA—reaching their lowest points. The recovery throughout 2021 and 2022 signifies improved operational and profitability performance. However, the gradual declines in these ratios from 2023 onward hint at emerging pressures or a normalization phase with softer returns and margins. This analysis highlights the importance of continuous monitoring of profitability and asset management efficiency to adapt strategies accordingly.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio begins at a value of 0.81 in December 2019 and generally remains stable with slight fluctuations around the 0.76 to 0.79 range through March 2025. A subtle declining trend is observed towards the end of the period, reaching 0.74, indicating a slightly reduced proportion of income paid in taxes over time.

Interest Burden

The interest burden ratio shows variability, starting at approximately 0.93 in December 2019, then declining markedly to a low of 0.64 by March 2020. This sharp reduction reflects increased interest expenses or financial leverage during that quarter. Subsequently, the ratio recovers, fluctuating close to 0.90 in most later quarters, with a minor downward trend in the final quarters, reaching 0.87 by June 2025.

EBIT Margin

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin exhibits significant volatility over the periods. Initial values are around 18-19% in late 2019 but plunge sharply to a low of approximately 5.6% in March 2020, coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A recovery phase follows, with margins rebounding to over 20% by early 2022. After this peak, a gradual erosion occurs, stabilizing around 15-16% during 2022 and 2023, and then tapering further to approximately 11% by mid-2025.

Asset Turnover

Asset turnover ratios decline from 1.38 in late 2019 to near 0.77 by March 2020, indicating reduced efficiency in asset utilization likely caused by pandemic-related disruptions. Subsequently, a steady improvement trend is evident, with values increasing beyond 1.15 from early 2022 through 2024. A slight decline occurs toward mid-2025, ending around 1.09, suggesting some moderation in asset efficiency.

Return on Assets (ROA)

Return on assets declines substantially from 18.73% in December 2019 to a low of 2.22% by March 2020, reflecting the combined impact of revenue declines and increased costs during the pandemic onset. A consistent recovery trend is noted thereafter, with ROA rising steadily to approximately 15.2% by early 2022. After peaking, ROA experiences a gradual decrease back to under 10% by mid-2025, indicating reduced profitability relative to assets in the longer term.

Overall Financial Trends

Across the examined periods, the data indicates a pronounced negative impact on profitability and operational efficiency during early 2020, corresponding with the global pandemic effects. Key profitability ratios (EBIT margin and ROA) dropped sharply, while asset turnover declined, reflecting operational challenges. Following this, there is a clear recovery phase extending through 2021 and early 2022, with margins and returns improving significantly. However, this recovery plateaus and gradually reverses thereafter, with profitability margins and returns declining moderately through 2024-2025, alongside a modest reduction in asset utilization efficiency. Costs related to interest and tax burdens remain relatively stable with minor decreases, suggesting controlled financial obligations but a less favorable operating environment impacting net results.

The financial data reveals several noteworthy trends regarding profitability and cost management over the observed periods.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio demonstrates a relatively stable pattern, fluctuating slightly around 0.76 to 0.78 for most of the recent periods, with a gradual decrease to 0.74 by the latest quarter. This indicates a consistent tax rate impact on earnings before tax over time, with a marginal improvement in tax efficiency towards the most current periods.

Interest Burden

The interest burden ratio exhibits more variability, starting from a high value near 0.93 between late 2019 and early 2020, before experiencing a notable dip to a low of 0.64 in March 2020. This sharp decline suggests increased interest expenses or financial costs during that quarter, possibly related to adverse conditions. Subsequently, the ratio recovered, stabilizing between 0.88 and 0.92 in the following quarters. Recent quarters show a slight gradual decline to about 0.87, signaling a modest increase in interest expenses or financial costs relative to EBIT.

EBIT Margin

The EBIT margin reveals significant fluctuations, reflecting operational performance variability. Initially, the margin is steady around 18% but plunges dramatically to below 7% during the first half of 2020, coinciding with increased business disruption. This decline suggests substantial operational challenges affecting earnings before interest and tax. Afterwards, the margin recovers impressively, peaking at slightly over 20% around late 2021 and early 2022, which indicates a period of strong operating profitability. However, there is a gradual and consistent decline in EBIT margin beginning in 2022, reaching approximately 11.1% in the most recent quarter, pointing to either rising costs or decreasing operational efficiency over the last several quarters.

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin follows a similar trajectory to EBIT margin, with a strong initial level near 14%, a steep drop below 4% in early 2020, and a gradual recovery thereafter. The margin peaks near 14.5% in late 2021 but then trends downward steadily, reaching about 7.2% by the latest period analyzed. This pattern indicates the combined impact of operating performance, interest costs, and taxes on overall profitability, with the recent declining trend suggesting increasing margin pressures possibly from higher operating costs, interest expenses, or other financial factors.

Overall, the analysis points to a notable impact of an adverse event around early 2020, causing sharp declines in profitability measures. The subsequent recovery phases show operational improvements and financial stabilization until late 2021. However, profitability appears to be under renewed pressure in the more recent periods, as indicated by declining margins and a slight deterioration in the interest burden ratio, warranting further examination of cost control and revenue growth strategies going forward.