SBUX Green Apron Gains Traction: Will Staffing Boost Traffic?

Starbucks Corporation SBUX is betting big on its revamped Green Apron Service to restore customer connection and drive transaction growth after several soft quarters. The initiative, rolled out across the full U.S. company-operated portfolio in August, makes staffing and service quality a top priority.

Management increased labor hours, expanded rosters and pushed earlier store openings to ensure more hands are available during high-demand periods. Early results are promising, improved customer experience scores and record low turnover signal stronger partner engagement.

Execution improvements are also translating to better throughput. More than 80% of U.S. company-operated stores are now achieving café service times of four minutes or less, aided by the new Smart Queue sequencing algorithm. September marked an important milestone: positive U.S. sales comps led by transactions, the first such uptick in months. The company believes consistency is the key, customers must feel the difference on every visit for momentum to sustain.

Management acknowledges the ramp will take time. The first 650 pilot stores continue to outperform the broader system, reinforcing the view that customer familiarity with better service will accelerate results. Starbucks also sees the initiative as both a defensive fix and an offensive weapon, positioning the brand to compete more effectively across café, mobile and drive-thru channels, all areas where frequency remains high.

The focus now is clear: win the morning and earn the afternoon through better staffing and operational discipline. While labor investments continue to weigh on margins, Starbucks expects traffic-led growth to drive long-term profit recovery. With Green Apron now standard and holiday season traffic building, investors will be watching whether these operational enhancements deliver sustained U.S. comparable sales growth in 2026.

How Competitors Are Responding to Service-Led Traffic Strategies

Starbucks’ intensified push behind staffing and in-store service places direct pressure on competitors pursuing similar traffic-recovery strategies. Dutch Bros Inc. BROS continues to expand its predominantly drive-thru model, leveraging speedy service and personalized interactions as differentiators. With compact store formats and lower labor needs, BROS prioritizes throughput efficiency and youth-focused menu innovation. However, without Starbucks’ large café footprint or deeper service investments, Dutch Bros competes more on speed than experiential engagement, which positions it differently as the former leans into human connection inside the store.

Restaurant Brands International QSR, parent of Tim Hortons, is another relevant competitor advancing operational upgrades. Tim Hortons has been investing in equipment improvements, digital ordering functionality and targeted staffing efficiencies to sharpen speed and boost guest satisfaction across morning dayparts. Its emphasis on value pricing and convenience makes Tim Hortons a formidable rival, particularly as Starbucks looks to “win the morning” with enhanced service and connection.

Ultimately, competitors are choosing efficiency and value, while Starbucks is doubling down on service-led premium experience, a strategic divergence that will determine traffic leadership in 2026.

SBUX’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Starbucks have gained 0.8% in the past six months against the industry’s decline of 6.7%.

Price Performance

From a valuation standpoint, Starbucks trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 2.53, below the industry’s average of 3.5.

P/S (F12M)

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SBUX’s fiscal 2026 and 2027 EPS implies a gain of 13.6% and 25.6%, respectively, year over year. The EPS estimates for fiscal 2026 and 2027 have declined in the past 30 days.

Starbucks currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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