SBUX · 8-K · 20261029PR000154
China Strategic Joint Venture
STARBUCKS CORP · 2026-10-29 · Importance 81 · Surprise 92 · In source text
In Q3 fiscal 2026, Starbucks converted its China retail operations to a licensed joint-venture model, contributing to Q4 International revenue falling 36.9% to $1.31 billion. International company-operated coffeehouse revenue fell 53.2% to $740.7 million in Q4, while licensed revenue rose 18.4% to $557.7 million. The conversion contributed to higher product sales to and royalty revenue from licensees, and International Q4 operating margin rose to 19.7% from 10.8%. Starbucks recorded a $536.3 million pretax gain from the China retail-operations divestiture and reported $2.544 billion of net proceeds from the divestiture in fiscal 2026.
Key facts
- The Starbucks China retail operations were converted to a licensed joint venture model in Q3 FY2026, reducing company-operated coffeehouse revenue and contributing to higher product sales to and royalty revenue from licensees. source
- The FY2026 China retail operations divestiture generated a pre-tax gain of $536.3 million. source
Impact estimates
| metric | direction | stage | expected | basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| revenue | negative | realized | — | The Starbucks China retail operations were converted to a licensed joint venture model in Q3 FY2026, reducing company-operated coffeehouse… |
| revenue | positive | realized | — | The Starbucks China retail operations were converted to a licensed joint venture model in Q3 FY2026, reducing company-operated coffeehouse… |