The performance is mixed! Starbucks CEO's annual salary dropped by 450 million yuan!

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Recently, Starbucks disclosed its first quarterly report card for the 2026 fiscal year that exceeded market expectations, and announced the company's operations and important data from October 1 to December 28, 2025, attracting attention from all walks of life.

After more than a year of "returning to Starbucks" reform, same-store sales, a key indicator in Starbucks 'earnings report, rebounded strongly. Global same-store sales increased by 4%, achieving two consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth.

Same-store sales in the United States and China, the world's first and second largest markets, increased by 4% and 7% respectively in the first fiscal quarter of 2026. Among them, North American same-store sales are the first time that Starbucks has achieved positive growth in the U.S. market in the past two years and is the best performance in eight quarters. Therefore, from the outside world, the positive change in this figure may indicate that the CEO has vigorously implemented the "Return to Starbucks" reform has achieved some results.

However, although same-store sales have increased significantly, Starbucks 'net profit has dropped by 62% compared with the same period last year, and profit margins have not increased for two consecutive years.

As for the reasons for the sharp decline in profits, the analysis points out that on the one hand, it stems from the huge operating investment brought about by Starbucks 'continued reforms and business transformation, such as a 1 billion U.S. dollar restructuring plan launched in the middle of last year to close many stores in North America and lay off more than 900 people. On the other hand, rising global coffee prices, rising labor prices, and sharply rising tax rates have all put a lot of pressure on Starbucks 'profit margins.

In addition, Starbucks 'share price did not rise due to improved results. Data shows that Starbucks shares will fall by 7.7% for the whole of 2025, falling for the fourth consecutive year. It is worth mentioning that since the performance bonus in Starbucks CEO's salary structure is directly linked to stock price performance, the decline in the company's stock price directly caused the Starbucks top leader to lose his performance bonus.

Starbucks filings filed with regulators show that CEO Brian Nickel's total salary for the fiscal year 2025 is US$31 million, a decrease of 65 million compared with the high annual salary of US$96 million when he first took office in 2024. The US dollar (approximately RMB 450 million), a drop of 67.7%.

In terms of salary composition, Nikker's high annual salary in 2024 is mainly due to the special incentives provided for the entry package, including stock awards of more than US$90 million. However, in addition to regular income such as basic salary, the CEO's salary structure in fiscal 2025 only has US$5 million in bonuses and nearly US$20 million in stock awards. There is no one-time special incentive for on-site recruitment. Moreover, the performance bonus is lost due to the decline in stock price, making his annual salary is greatly discounted compared with before.

After the financial report was disclosed, the number of voices questioning Nikkel's new reform policy decreased, and some analysts and investors were positive about Starbucks 'turnaround plan. However, some analysts said that Starbucks needs to maintain stronger customer traffic in the second half of fiscal 2026 to improve profitability and justify large operating investments.

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