Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol: 'The turn has occurred' — now it's in growth mode

Brian Sozzi · Executive Editor Fri, October 30, 2026 at 7:56 AM PDT 1 min read

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The turnaround at Starbucks (SBUX) has been served up, and now it looks to be a caffeinated period of growth.

"I think we're back to being just a growth company. I think the turn has occurred. And now we have all these growth opportunities in front of us because we've got a strong foundation," Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said on Sozzi Unleashed.

Starbucks delivered a bottom-line beat in its fiscal fourth quarter results on Thursday evening, posting adjusted earnings of $0.80 per share versus estimates for $0.71.

Three highlights in particular stood out, in addition to the earnings beat.

Global comparable-store sales jumped 7.2%, and US same-store sales accelerated to 7.7%, driven by healthy ticket and transaction expansion.…