Starbucks Stock to $120? Cramer Says Turnaround Is Accelerating
Starbucks stock is climbing back toward triple digits, and Jim Cramer says it won’t stop there. The coffee chain beat Wall Street on nearly every line this week.
In a week of major earnings calls, Starbucks has not only performed, but also shown delivery on a promise of a turnaround in the coffee chain’s fortunes, promised by CEO Brian Niccol.
Starbucks Beats Across the Board
Starbucks earned an adjusted $0.85 per share in its fiscal third quarter. That’s up 70% year over year and well ahead of estimates. Revenue held at $9.3 billion. Global comparable-store sales grew 7.9%, the fourth straight quarter of gains.
Operating margin expanded 430 basis points to 14.4%. North America’s margin grew for the first time since early fiscal 2024. That held even after stripping out the tariff refunds that boosted the headline numbers.
Shares jumped more than 3% Thursday to roughly $107. That puts Starbucks up about 26% year to date. The stock now sits near the 52-week closing high of $108.37, set on July 16. It has not closed above $110 since January 2025.
Starbucks has been on a steady climb YTD, and these earnings results could accelerate things. Image Source: Trading View
Cramer Bets Bigger on the Turnaround
Cramer interviewed CEO Brian Niccol on CNBC Thursday and called the quarter the inflection point for the turnaround. He raised his Investing Club price target to $120 from $115 and said the results should help Starbucks
Niccol is leaning harder into store remodels, and Starbucks now targets 1,500 upgraded locations by fiscal year-end. He’s also simplifying the company’s footprint abroad. Roughly 90% of its nearly 23,000 international stores now run under licensing deals. That follows a China joint venture Starbucks finalized in April. The company plans to keep direct control only over the U.S. and Canada.
The upgrade follows a costly stretch of layoffs that investors cheered as Niccol cut costs. It also stands out against Cramer’s more cautious calls on other momentum stocks this week.
Whether Starbucks actually heads towards $120 may hinge on North America’s margin gains holding once the tariff refunds fade.
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