Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

The financial ratios for the periods presented indicate several notable trends in valuation metrics over time. The Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio shows marked fluctuations, beginning with relatively moderate values around 27 in late 2018 and early 2019 and experiencing a sharp increase, peaking above 185 in early 2021. Following this peak, the ratio declines substantially to reach levels in the low to mid-20s by mid-2024, with a slight uptick observed towards the end of the data series.

Similarly, the Price to Operating Profit (P/OP) ratio mirrors the P/E pattern, starting near 24 in late 2018, rising steeply to a peak close to 98 in early 2021, and thereafter reducing steadily to remain in the range of approximately 14 to 26 in the later periods. This indicates an initial increase in market valuation relative to operating profit, followed by normalization or potentially improved operating profitability reducing the valuation multiples.

The Price to Sales (P/S) ratio remains more stable in comparison to earnings and operating profit multiples. It fluctuates modestly between approximately 3.45 and 5.74 during the earlier periods, reaching a peak near 5.74 in late 2020. Afterward, it declines gradually, settling mostly in the 2.36 to 3.81 range towards the later periods, suggesting a tempering of sales-based valuation in recent quarters.

The Price to Book Value (P/BV) ratio data is unavailable throughout all periods, thus preventing any analysis related to this metric.

Overall, the elevated P/E and P/OP ratios during 2020 and early 2021 suggest a period of heightened market expectations or reduced earnings and profits possibly due to extraordinary conditions. The subsequent decline across these multiples, along with a more stable P/S ratio, may signal a recovery phase or market adjustment to improved financial performance and stabilized sales. The decreasing trend in valuation multiples towards the most recent quarters could also reflect a recalibration of investor sentiment or external factors influencing market valuation norms.

Share Price Trends

The share price experienced notable fluctuations over the observed periods. Starting at $67.04 at the end of 2018, it rose steadily to a peak of $126.03 in June 2021. Following this peak, the price showed a general downward correction with some variability, dipping to a low near $74.33 in April 2022. Afterward, it gradually increased again, reaching over $114 in early 2023, before trending downward once more to around $75.94 by September 2024. The final data points indicate a moderate recovery, with the share price rising back toward the mid-$90 range by June 2025.

Earnings per Share (EPS) Trends

EPS data begins to appear from late 2019, starting at $3.05. It dipped sharply in early 2020, reaching a low point of $0.56 in December 2020, reflecting a significant earnings challenge in that period. Subsequently, EPS recovered steadily through 2021 and early 2022, peaking at $3.84 in October 2021. From 2022 onward, EPS generally showed a declining trend from around $3.63 down to $2.32 by June 2025, indicating some pressure on profitability in recent quarters.

Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio Trends

The P/E ratio was initially around the mid-to-high twenties when reported, maintaining levels near 27 between late 2019 and early 2020. This ratio then surged dramatically, peaking at an extremely high 185.4 in December 2020, corresponding with the period of sharply reduced EPS, suggesting that the share price may not have fully adjusted to declining earnings at that time or that investors anticipated a recovery. After this peak, the P/E ratio normalized, fluctuating mostly between 20 and 40 through 2023 and 2024, indicating more typical market valuation levels relative to earnings. Some upward movement occurred toward the end of the period, reaching around 40.14 in June 2025, reflecting a slight increase in valuation relative to earnings despite the lower EPS.

Overall Insights

The financial data reveals significant volatility likely influenced by external economic conditions impacting earnings profoundly in 2020. The share price reflected both optimism and corrections over time, peaking in 2021 before experiencing periods of decline and partial recovery. EPS recovered post-2020 but has been under pressure in recent quarters. The P/E ratio's sharp spike during 2020 signaled market uncertainties or expectations for future improvement, with more normalized valuations established in subsequent years. Observed trends suggest the company faced challenges affecting profitability but maintained investor interest with fluctuating confidence levels reflected in share price and valuation metrics.

The share price of the company exhibited considerable fluctuation over the presented periods. Initially, there was a general upward trend from December 2018 through June 2019, reaching a peak near 96.65 US$. This was followed by a decline towards late 2019 and early 2020, coinciding with broader market instability during that period, with the share price dropping to around 74.64 US$ by mid-2020. Post-mid-2020, the share price rebounded substantially, peaking at 126.03 US$ in mid-2021, indicating strong market recovery and possibly improved operational performance. Subsequently, a decreasing trend persisted from late 2021 into early 2023, with share prices declining to as low as approximately 74.33 US$. The most recent data shows some recovery with fluctuations, ending near 92.96 US$ by mid-2025.

The operating profit per share (OPPS), available from the third quarter of 2019 onwards, showed an initial decrease from 3.65 US$ down to as low as 1.07 US$ during the early quarters of 2020, reflecting operational challenges, possibly linked to external economic disruptions. From late 2020, OPPS demonstrated a persistent upward trend, rising steadily to peak around 5.39 US$ in the first quarter of 2024. After this peak, a gradual decline is observed towards mid-2025, with OPPS reaching approximately 3.49 US$.

The Price-to-Operating Profit (P/OP) ratio provides insight into market valuation relative to operational earnings. Initially, this ratio hovered in the mid-20s but spiked significantly during early 2020, reaching nearly 98.18, indicating the share price was high compared to earnings, possibly due to depressed profitability during that period. Following this peak, the P/OP ratio experienced a downward correction, stabilizing mainly in the teens and low twenties range through 2021 and early 2022. The ratio exhibited moderate volatility thereafter but maintained a general downward trend approaching mid-2024, followed by a slight increase nearing mid-2025.

Overall, the data indicates a period of volatility correlated between share price and operational earnings, especially pronounced around early 2020. Recovery phases are marked by improved operating profits per share and consequential share price appreciation. The P/OP ratio's fluctuations reflect changing market sentiment toward valuation fairness relative to earnings. The recent gradual decline in operating profit and corresponding rise in P/OP towards mid-2025 could imply a cautious market outlook or pressures on profitability.

The share price exhibited notable fluctuations over the observed periods. Initially, from late 2018 through 2019, there was a general upward trend reaching a peak near the end of 2019. However, a decline was apparent in early 2020, coinciding with global economic disruptions. A recovery phase followed, with the share price increasing steadily through 2021 and into early 2023, reaching highs exceeding previous levels. After this peak, the share price experienced moderate declines and volatility towards late 2023 and early 2024, showing some recovery again in mid-2024.

Sales per share data began to be available starting mid-2019. The metric showed a gradual but consistent upward trajectory over time, indicating increasing revenue attributed to each share. This progression suggests underlying growth in sales performance, with values rising from approximately 22.45 US$ per share in mid-2019 to around 32.28 US$ per share by mid-2025. This steady improvement reflects positively on operational results or market demand over the longer term.

The price-to-sales (P/S) ratio reflected an inverse movement relative to sales per share at certain points, with some volatility. The ratio initially remained in a moderate range around 3.5 to 3.8 during 2019 but started to increase sharply heading into late 2020, reaching levels above 5.5 in early 2021. This significant rise suggests the share price was growing faster than sales per share, potentially indicating elevated market expectations or valuation multiples during that period.

Following the peak, the P/S ratio underwent a sustained decline through 2022 and into 2023, reaching levels close to 2.3 by late 2023, the lowest observed in the time series. This decline indicates a relative decrease in valuation multiples compared to sales, possibly due to market corrections, increased sales outpacing price gains, or changes in investor sentiment. After this trough, the P/S ratio showed partial recovery throughout 2024 and into mid-2025, stabilizing around a range between 2.6 and 3.2.

Overall, the data reveal a company with improving sales per share, albeit experiencing share price volatility influenced by broader market conditions. The fluctuating P/S ratio underscores changing market valuations relative to sales, highlighting periods of both investor optimism and caution. The trends suggest a stable underlying sales growth with external factors impacting valuation metrics and share price movement over the quarters analyzed.

The analysis of the quarterly financial data reveals distinct trends in share price and book value per share (BVPS) over the examined periods. The share price exhibits notable volatility with an underlying general upward trend from late 2018 through early 2021, peaking at 126.03 US$ in June 2021. Following this peak, there is a period of decline and fluctuation, with share prices descending to as low as approximately 74.33 US$ in April 2022, before experiencing intermittent recovery phases reaching above 100 US$ again by early 2023. In more recent periods up to mid-2025, the share price again exhibits volatility, with values oscillating mostly between the mid-80s to low 100s US$, indicating market uncertainty or variable investor sentiment.

Regarding book value per share (BVPS), the data consistently shows negative values throughout the entire timeline, indicating that the company’s liabilities exceed its assets on a per-share basis. The BVPS started at -2.32 US$ in December 2018 and deteriorated further reaching negative peaks around -7.64 US$ to -7.59 US$ during 2022 and early 2023. In the latest data points, there is a slight recovery trend observed, with BVPS improving marginally, moving closer to -6.7 US$ by mid-2025, although still significantly negative.

The persistent negative BVPS suggests ongoing challenges with the company’s equity position, potentially reflecting accumulated losses or high liabilities relative to assets. Despite this, the share price performance indicates positive investor confidence or expectations, especially noticeable during the 2019 to 2021 period and partially in 2023.

Due to the absence of P/BV ratio data over the quarters, direct evaluation of price relative to book value cannot be performed. However, the inverse relationship between steadily negative BVPS and fluctuating but generally higher share prices suggests that market valuation may be driven by factors beyond net asset value, such as growth prospects, earnings potential, brand value, or other qualitative factors.

In summary, the data reflects a company facing equity valuation challenges as indicated by consistent negative book values, but with an equity market valuation that appreciates at times, showing periods of robust investor sentiment and valuation optimism, interspersed with phases of price correction and volatility in recent quarters.