Starbucks Stock (NASDAQ:SBUX) Defies Controversy: ’Racist’s Fav Drink’ Gains Amid Cup Writing Kerfuffle
Starbucks shares climb despite latest PR firestorm—proving once again that bad publicity beats no publicity in today's market.
Cup Controversy Fails to Spill Stock Performance
While social media erupted over another cup-writing incident, SBUX investors shrugged and kept pouring money into the coffee giant. The stock gained ground even as hashtags trended—demonstrating the remarkable immunity of established brands to temporary outrage cycles.
Wall Street's Caffeine Addiction Stronger Than Ethics
Analysts noted the disconnect between online outrage and actual purchasing behavior. Starbucks continues to serve up consistent returns, with consumers voting with their wallets rather than their Twitter feeds. The incident barely registered on the institutional radar.
Another Day, Another Kerfuffle—Business as Usual
This marks the latest in a long line of Starbucks controversies that ultimately failed to impact bottom lines. The pattern repeats: outrage peaks, headlines flare, and the stock barely flinches. Because nothing disrupts the morning coffee ritual—not even morality.
Maybe the real racism was expecting Wall Street to care about anything other than quarterly earnings.
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This time, the problem struck in Ohio, where a customer put in an order for the Charlie Kirk drink of choice—a mint majesty tea with two honeys—and got it back not long after. The problem was the cup message, which reports noted read: “Racist’s fav drink.”
Here is where things take an interesting twist. The person who got the drink—Middletown, Ohio resident Autumn Perkins—complained to the manager, showed the cup in question, and the manager turned to the staff. One of them actually admitted to doing it, and was directly fired. Meanwhile, Starbucks offered a statement, which read in part, “Writing this on a cup is unacceptable, and we have clear policies that prohibit negative messages to help preserve a welcoming environment.”
Union Troubles Continue
Starbucks’ troubles with the union, meanwhile, continue as a new court decision hit and found Starbucks guilty of violating labor laws. Specifically, noted Administrative Law Judge Melissa M. Olivero, Starbucks violated Sections 8(a)(3) and 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it fired four employees over union activity.
Further, Starbucks also designated one of the employees as “ineligible for rehire,” and also failed to rehire that employee, reports noted. Further, reports noted, Olivero applied “…the Wright Line framework…” to determine whether or not the activity the employees engaged in was protected or not. The subsequent verdict seems to have found it was.
Is Starbucks Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on SBUX stock based on 14 Buys, six Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 9.7% loss in its share price over the past year, the average SBUX price target of $102.10 per share implies 19.19% upside potential.
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