Brian Niccol, CEO of Chipotle
Anjali Sundaram | CNBC
Wall Avenue believes Brian Niccol is the suitable selection to show round Starbucks — and transfer the chain previous the decadeslong Howard Schultz period.
Starbucks tapped Niccol as its newest chief govt and chair on Tuesday. Niccol replaces Laxman Narasimhan, who took excessive job in March 2023 after being handpicked by former CEO Schultz. In its final two quarters, Starbucks reported same-store gross sales declines as its U.S. enterprise floundered. As soon as he takes over, Niccol shall be charged with rejuvenating demand for the corporate’s espresso.
“In our view, Starbucks picks up a corridor of fame restaurant CEO, and his appointment as Starbucks CEO and Chairman suggests a brand new period is underway,” TD Cowen analyst Andrew Charles wrote in a observe to shoppers, emphasizing the significance of the mixed position.
Buyers are assured that he can revive the corporate. Shares of Starbucks climbed 20% in afternoon buying and selling on the information, placing them on tempo for his or her greatest day because the firm’s IPO in 1992. In the meantime, Chipotle’s inventory fell 9% as shareholders bemoaned the lack of the longtime chief govt.
Piper Sandler, TD Cowen and Baird all upgraded Starbucks inventory within the wake of the management adjustments.
Different analysts wrote glowingly of Niccol, seeing him as the suitable particular person to sort out Starbucks’ sluggish gross sales. A difficult client surroundings, worsening buyer expertise and rising competitors from smaller espresso outlets have damage the chain’s efficiency just lately.
“We view this as a dream rent for SBUX, and couldn’t consider a extra outfitted chief to take a recent have a look at SBUX’s operations, aggressive positioning and total technique,” Oppenheimer analyst Brian Bittner mentioned.
Finish of an period?
Niccol’s hiring may additionally spell the top of Schultz’s enormous affect over the corporate he was a world espresso big.
“Importantly, Brian is probably going the one restaurant govt that has the gravitas to deal with the Howard Schultz Founder ‘overhang,'” Evercore ISI analyst David Palmer wrote.
Schultz served as CEO from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017 after which from 2022 to 2023, stepping in twice to save lots of the corporate when gross sales turned sluggish. His final return sparked issues concerning the firm’s succession.
On the finish of his final stint, he swore that he would not return as chief govt once more, though his presence nonetheless looms massive over the corporate. In Could, after a brutal quarter for Starbucks, he wrote an open letter on LinkedIn concerning the firm’s challenges and provided recommendation to its leaders — with out naming Narasimhan.
Even after his retirement, Schultz’s involvement within the firm has remained “a query hanging over the inventory,” Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Harbour wrote in a observe Tuesday. Mellody Hobson, who stepped down as Starbucks chair to turn out to be lead unbiased director as a part of Tuesday’s management shake-up, mentioned on CNBC’s “Squawk Field” that she advised Schultz concerning the discussions with Niccol, retaining him within the loop regardless of him having no formal position inside the firm anymore.
Schultz additionally stays a significant Starbucks shareholder, with a roughly 2% stake.
Schultz endorsed Niccol’s hiring within the press launch saying the shakeup. In a press release, the chairman emeritus mentioned he believes that Niccol is the chief the corporate wants at a “pivotal second in its historical past.”
Some analysts imagine that having Niccol, an skilled restaurant CEO, within the driver’s seat may imply that Schultz lastly strikes on. Niccol will even succeed Hobson as chair of the board, giving him extra latitude to make adjustments.
“This would be the final time traders care what he has to say as a result of Niccol now has the wheel and there’s no longer ANY room for a backseat driver,” Gordon Haskett analyst Don Bilson wrote.
Niccol additionally has earlier expertise taking on a founder-led model and making it his personal. When he joined Chipotle in 2018, he took the reins from founder Steve Ells, who had led the chain since 1993. Niccol moved the burrito chain’s headquarters from Denver to Newport Seashore to draw totally different expertise — and perhaps evolve the model from being founder-led, as Bernstein analyst Danilo Gargiulo wrote in a observe.
Challenges forward
Whereas analysts largely cheered Niccol’s appointment, some have been extra cautious, noting that Starbucks is a bigger and extra complicated enterprise than Chipotle.
“Starbucks is a way more sophisticated mannequin than Chipotle, with firm and licensed shops, home and worldwide areas, and a major presence in struggling China,” BTIG analyst Peter Saleh wrote.
Chipotle has few licensed areas, apart from some airport eating places, and a comparatively small worldwide footprint, though Niccol has been pushing to develop its presence exterior the U.S. in recent times.
Starbucks, then again, has extra worldwide areas than U.S. cafes. And whereas traders have just lately centered on the chain’s home efficiency, China, its second-largest market, has continued to battle as competitors there ramps up and the nation’s financial system lags.
Narasimhan mentioned on the corporate’s newest convention name that he was exploring “strategic partnerships” for its China enterprise, which may embrace a three way partnership, tech partnership or different choices. Niccol’s appointment may imply that Starbucks abandons that exploration, though he does have some expertise with spinoffs from his time as head of Yum Manufacturers’ Taco Bell. Whereas he was there, the conglomerate spun off its China enterprise into Yum China.
And whereas Chipotle’s burritos are nonetheless in excessive demand, customers’ financial issues have dampened their want for espresso. Which will show to be a more durable hurdle for Niccol than traders anticipate.
“His problem is to attach with a brand new buyer,” Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan mentioned. “Other than the facility to alter the route of macro headwinds, we view the shareholder euphoria (as expressed within the share worth this morning) as untimely.”
