Starbucks loses $12B market cap amid sales concerns, boycotts over Israel

Published

5 months ago

December 8, 2023

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Starbucks has seen nearly $12 billion erased from its market value during the past month as sales reportedly have slowed amid tighter consumer wallets and growing labor strife — with some even speculating the chain has been hit by boycotts over the Israel-Gaza war.

Investors have grown wary that consumers will splash out on a pricey cup of joe during the holiday season when budgets get tighter, according to Bloomberg, citing sales data from JPMorgan analysts that signaled a material slowing at Starbucks in November.

Despite delivering better-than-expected sales growth of 8% in its fiscal fourth quarter, the coffeehouse’s share price has decelerated on a week-over-week basis, following trends in the snack and coffee industry.

When the markets opened on Monday, Starbucks’ stock dropped 1.6%, declining for a 11th consecutive session in what is the longest losing streak since Starbucks public debut in 1992.

The rout erased 9.4% of Starbucks market value, a decline of nearly $12 billion.

As of early trading hours Thursday, the Seattle-based company’s share price was down roughly 6.5%, to $96.90, on a monthly basis.

When the coffeehouse chain’s share price started to decline, it was putting on its annual Red Cup Day.

The promotional event saw baristas handing out free red-colored, reusable, holiday-themed cups to customers on their coffee purchases on Nov. 16, though the festivities were overshadowed by a walkout.

Hundreds of workers represented by the Workers United union walked off the job on the notoriously busy day — demanding improved staffing and schedules — while non-unionized staffers endured one of the most infamously hard, understaffed days, as drink orders pile up and employees end up on the receiving end of abuse from frustrated customers over long wait times.

The protest was just the latest in Starbucks’ deep-rooted disagreements with the union.

Last month, the two entities filed warring lawsuits over the union’s social media post declaring “Solidarity with Palestine!” in the wake of Hamas deadly attacks.

After Workers United published the controversial statement in a since-deleted post on X last month — where it boasts nearly 100,000 followers — Starbucks swiftly moved to distance itself from the organization.

We unequivocally condemn acts of terrorism, hate and violence, and disagree with the statements and views expressed by Workers United and its members. Workers Uniteds words and actions belong to them, and them alone,” Starbucks said at the time.

The response was interpreted as a display of support for Israel over Palestine, prompting calls for a boycott. Despite Starbucks’ efforts to quell boycott calls, the hashtag #boycottstarbucks is still trending on social media.

According to TikTok’s Creative Center, a database that details user insights, the hashtag has been used in some 16,000 times over the past 30 days, generating a combined 167 million views.

On X, other social media users appear to be cheering Starbucks’ decline.

“I haven’t gone to Starbucks in months due to the boycotts and I am so happy to see less people there too,” a user who goes by Kate wrote.

“WE WON,” another chimed in while a slew of commenters said the slash in market cap was “deserved.”

When The Post reached out to Starbucks for comment, a company spokesperson pointed to a message from its chief partner officer, Sara Kelly, posted on Starbucks’ website last month.

“Starbucks unequivocally condemns acts of hate, terrorism and violence,” Kelly wrote. “As a leadership team, we want to again express our deepest sympathy for those who have been killed, wounded, displaced and impacted following the heinous acts of terror, escalating violence and hate against the innocent in Israel and Gaza.”

Though Starbucks’ total value was down, its store sales at its 35,000-plus locations worldwide rose 8% for its 2023 fiscal year that ended in November.

Earlier this month, Starbucks said it would raise hourly pay for its US retail workers by at least 3% from 2024 after Workers United’s repeated pleas to give baristas an increased hourly base wage.

Staffers affiliated with Workers United which represents Starbucks staffers at 340 Starbucks locations across the US criticized the increase, calling it tone deaf given Starbucks recently-reported increases in revenue and the recent wage hikes won by auto workers.

Meanwhile, one of union’s founding organizers, Jaz Brisack, has previously voiced support for Palestinian terrorist Rasmea Odeh, who was involved in bombings in Jerusalem in 1969 and 1970.

Brisack penned an op-ed in the Daily Mississippian in 2017 that referred to Odeh as a political prisoner.

Odeh was freed by Israel as part of a prisoner exchange in 1980 but arrested in the US in 2013 after illegally entering the country in the 1990s.

She was deported to Jordan in 2017.

World

How a Philippine coastguard ship ended up being surrounded by 12 Chinese vessels

Published

59 seconds ago

April 30, 2024

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How a Philippine coastguard ship ended up being surrounded by 12 Chinese vessels

It was a rare window into confrontations most have viewed from afar. We were invited on board the Philippine Coastguard Vessel BRP Bagacay.

They were on a resupply mission to Scarborough Shoal – a submerged reef which China claims as its own but is within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.

They were meant to be dropping off food and fuel to fishermen who rely on the lives beneath these waters. But they knew, as did we, that this journey was about far more.

It felt as if they wanted to show the world they were willing to stand up to Beijing if Chinese ships tried to block their path.

Our trip comes off the back of a trilateral summit with Japan and America, where no doubt there were discussions on how to handle China’s expanding interests and increasing manoeuvres in the South China Sea.

We got on the ship on Monday afternoon. By dawn the following day, the tension was already apparent.

Two ships were already trailing behind our vessel – more than three hours away from Scarborough Shoal.

There has long been a game of brinkmanship in this waterway – where about one-third of the world’s shipping passes through. But this felt more choreographed and intense than it has for some time.

Soon, the captain told us 12 ships were encircling our vessel.

They swerved in front of the Philippine crew, who exchanged warnings over the radio.

On the deck, the crew rushed towards buoys every time the Chinese edged closer – trying to protect themselves in case there was a collision. We could see the Chinese crew taking pictures – just metres away from us.

Then suddenly, a volley of water was fired at the boat. The force of it seemed to take even the experienced crew on board by surprise.

We were on the stern of the vessel and got soaked. As we were ushered inside, the roof of part of the deck that some of us had spent the previous night sleeping on was ripped apart. Despite the damage, the water cannons continued to fire.

Within hours the Chinese coastguard was trying to get the first word out to the world about the incident.

They say the Philippine vessel we were on has been “expelled”.

The team on board the Philippine vessel tell us they’re turning back because the other ship they were travelling alongside has had its radar damaged by the water cannons.

There is arguably one silent player in this fraught moment – America.

The US has recently deepened its military and diplomatic ties with the Philippines. It’s described China’s actions as “coercive and unlawful”.

It has also made clear that due to a joint defence treaty, it will take action if Beijing conducts a military attack.

That’s raised the temperature of this tussle and the spectre of a superpower showdown.

No one wants that yet, but the chances of a dangerous misstep now look far higher.

US

Pro-Palestinian protesters take over building at Columbia University in US

Published

1 min ago

April 30, 2024

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Pro-Palestinian protesters take over building at Columbia University in US

Pro-Palestinian protesters took over a university building in the US – the latest escalation of demonstrations at college campuses against the Israel-Hamas war.

The demonstrators barricaded the entrance of the building at Columbia University in New York on Tuesday and unfurled a Palestinian flag out of a window.

Video footage showed protesters on the Manhattan campus locking arms in front of Hamilton Hall and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building.

Follow latest: Deal between Israel and Hamas ‘not far off’

A group called Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) said Hamilton Hall was now called “Hind’s Hall” in honour of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl killed in a strike on Gaza in February.

The student radio station broadcast a play-by-play of the hall’s takeover, which occurred nearly 12 hours after a deadline for the protesters to leave an encampment of around 120 tents or face suspension.

Demonstrators said they planned to remain at the hall until the university conceded to the CUAD’s three demands: divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.

One protester, a 22-year-old student who did not wish to be named, told Sky News she has relatives in Gaza and she will “not stop attending protests until the war ends and (Columbia University) agrees to divest”.

“We have Jewish, Christian, Muslim people of faith and people of no faith standing with me, holding my hands in solidarity with the injustice that is happening in Palestine,” she said.

“If we have to be here all day we will, we need peace and we need justice. They are threatening to suspend us but we are standing up for human rights.”

Dozens of people were arrested on Monday during protests at universities in Texas, Utah, Virginia and New Jersey, while Columbia said hours before the takeover of Hamilton Hall that it had started suspending students.

Police moved to clear an encampment at Yale University in Connecticut on Tuesday morning, but there were no immediate reports of arrests.

The campus protests began as a response by some students to Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on 7 October.

UK

Hainault sword attack: Child dies and four taken to hospital after sword attack in northeast London

Published

1 min ago

April 30, 2024

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Hainault sword attack: Child dies and four taken to hospital after sword attack in northeast London

A 14-year-old boy has died and four people are in hospital after a stabbing attack in northeast London.

Police were called to reports around 7am that a 36-year-old man was wielding a sword and attacking members of the public.

Officers were also caught up in the rampage in Hainault, northeast London, near the Tube station.

Police also said the man crashed a vehicle into a house in nearby Thurlow Gardens, before reportedly stabbing a number of people and being arrested.

London Ambulance Service said they treated five people at the scene and took them to hospital – including the 14-year-old boy.

In an update this afternoon, Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, who leads local policing, confirmed the teenage boy had died.

He said: “He was taken to hospital after being stabbed and sadly died a short while after.

“The child’s family are being supported firstly by my local officers and now with some specialist officers and everyone across the Met is keeping them in our thoughts at this unimaginably difficult time.”

He also confirmed two other members of the public were in hospital with injuries believed to be not life-threatening.

Along with them, two officers received “significant” but not life-threatening injuries and will undergo surgery, the police chief said.

Officers arrested the man 22 minutes after the first call went into emergency services.

Eyewitnesses described hearing shrieking and seeing someone receive CPR at the scene.

Video showed a man wielding a large sword outside a number of residential properties.

Police added they did not think it was a targeted attack, or terror-related, and they were working to establish the circumstances of what took place.

As the press conference ended this afternoon Ch Supt Stuart Bell refused to respond to questions over whether the suspect had been previously arrested.

Eyewitnesses heard ‘screams and shrieking’ after Hainault sword attack

Chris Bates told Sky News he saw police apprehend a suspect wielding a “big samurai sword”.

He said that, after confronting the suspect, police screamed at them to drop the sword, before they Tasered him, and “piled on top of him”, arresting him.

Another local resident said she saw a body on the ground as she hid by her window, while a sword-wielding man shouted “do you believe in God?” outside her home.

The witness, who didn’t want to be named, said: “He was wielding his sword trying to attack the police but then they sprayed him and he ran away.

“He was shouting at the police ‘do you believe in God?’, also at the ambulance.

“We were very scared and trying to hide and not show ourselves through the window, because he was standing right next to our house and he could have seen us if he looked up.

“We were trying to hide but also at the same time taking video of him attacking the police, and of the body on the floor, so, yeah, we were very scared and we didn’t know what to do.”

The King has asked to be kept informed of the incident and has sent his thoughts to those affected.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “Following the horrific scenes in Hainault this morning, the King has asked to be kept fully informed as details of the incident become clearer.

“His thoughts and prayers are with all those affected – in particular, the family of the young victim who has lost his life – and he salutes the courage of the emergency services who helped contain the situation.”

Politicians were quick to offer their condolences after news emerged of the attack.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “This is a shocking incident. My thoughts are with those affected and their families.

“I’d like to thank the emergency services for their ongoing response, and pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery shown by police on the scene. Such violence has no place on our streets.”

Local MP, and Labour shadow minister, Wes Streeting said the whole community was “devastated” by news of the attack but “deserved answers”.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan praised the “everyday bravery” of the police officers who ran towards the sword-wielding man.

He added: “This attack is devastating and appalling. I’m sure I speak on behalf of the entire city when I say my thoughts and prayers are with this young child and his family.”