Starbucks to close 250 North America stores, cuts openings forecast for fiscal 2026
The reductions will lower full-year net new store openings to about 440, down from earlier guidance of 600 to 650.
Published
Starbucks said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it will close approximately 250 stores in North America. The company said the closures will reduce full fiscal year 2026 net new global company-operated and licensed coffeehouse openings to approximately 440, down from its prior guidance of 600 to 650.
Starbucks said it still sees significant longer-term growth opportunity in North America and is building a pipeline of new coffeehouses there. It said higher net new openings internationally will partly offset the North America reductions.
The company closed roughly 400 stores in North America last September, about 1% of its more than 32,000 locations worldwide at the time, and cut 900 corporate jobs as part of a $1 billion restructuring under chief executive Brian Niccol's "Back to Starbucks" turnaround, according to CNN Business. That round of closures was expected to cost about $1 billion, including $150 million in severance, $400 million tied to disposing of store assets and $450 million in lease expenses, Restaurant Dive reported, citing a Starbucks filing.
Comparable store sales in North America have been declining through the Back to Starbucks turnaround. The latest round of closures comes as the company continues trying to reverse that trend, and investors will be watching whether trimming the store base helps stabilize sales or simply shrinks the base they are measured against.