Peter Saleh, a BTig analyst, believes Starbucks (SBUX, Financial) stock might make a noteworthy recovery in 2025. Saleh is zeroing in on the operational reset of the company under CEO Brian Niccol. Niccol's concentration on improving service times, simplifying pricing, and streamlining retail operations could generate same-store sales growth and profitability recovery is likely to be huge, according to the analyst's forecast by 2026.
Saleh established Starbucks's $115 price target in a note on Thursday, which essentially marks a 30% increase from its current price of about $91.25.
This places Starbucks among Saleh's top stock picks for the first half of 2025. Saleh noted challenges ahead even with the optimism and defined 2025 as a "transition and investment year." Starbucks has temporarily stopped advising and pulled back on development ambitions as it recalibrates. Similar difficulties are shown by the company's most recent financial statistics; international comparable-store sales decreased by 7% while North American sales dropped 6% in the most recent quarter.
Niccol highlighted in an interview the need to reverse dropping foot traffic and the importance of improving customer experience. By 2025, experts aim for little changes that will set the stage for ongoing development in the next years.
