Starbucks Credit Rating & NNN Cap Rate (2026)

Starbucks Business Overview & NNN Investment Grade Profile

Starbucks describes itself as the premier roaster, marketer and retailer of specialty coffee globally, and it had about 18,400 North American stores (roughly 11,100 company-operated and 7,200 licensed) as of June 28, 2026 (Form 10‑Q). Under CEO Brian Niccol (since September 2024), Starbucks is executing its “Back to Starbucks” turnaround, which focuses on the coffeehouse experience, its Green Apron Service standard, menu discipline, a redesigned Starbucks Rewards program and coffeehouse upgrades. Starbucks reported its fourth consecutive quarter of comparable store sales growth in its fiscal third quarter of 2026 (US comparable sales up 7.9%) and raised its full-year guidance.

Results have been uneven during the turnaround: operating margin fell to 7.9% in fiscal 2025 from 15.0% in fiscal 2024, including $892 million of restructuring and impairment charges (fiscal 2025 Form 10‑K). Rent increases and renewal options vary by lease, and renewals are at Starbucks’ option.

Investors evaluating Starbucks NNN properties should focus on location quality, lease terms, cap rate entry, and the tenant’s credit trajectory. This analysis examines Starbucks’s credit profile, lease structure, market positioning, and investment considerations as of October 2026.

Starbucks Credit Rating Analysis

For landlords, the rating applies when Starbucks Corporation is the tenant or guarantor on the lease; a corporate lease does not prevent a store from closing, but it determines who keeps paying rent if it does.

Investors should monitor Starbucks’s quarterly earnings releases, cash flow generation, and any changes in credit outlook. Credit ratings are agency opinions of an issuer’s credit, not of a specific lease, so property location and lease terms remain critical evaluation factors.

Starbucks NNN Lease Structure

Initial terms and renewal options vary by lease. Starbucks’ 10‑K says many of its real estate leases require it to pay certain expenses, such as common area maintenance, real estate taxes and other executory costs; a lease may leave roof, structure or parking lot costs with the landlord, so confirm expense responsibilities in each lease.

Rent increases vary by lease; confirm the rent schedule. Renewal options are at Starbucks’ discretion, and Starbucks’ 10-K says its leases often include options to extend or terminate at its sole discretion, so check for any early termination right.

Where Starbucks Corporation signs or guarantees the lease, its credit backs the rent for the lease term even if a location underperforms, unless the lease gives Starbucks an early termination right. Licensed Starbucks stores are run by licensed store operators (Form 10‑K), so Starbucks Corporation may not be the tenant; confirm the tenant entity named in each lease.

Starbucks NNN Cap Rate & Pricing Trends

Live asking cap rates for Starbucks and comparable tenants:

Active listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks with an asking cap rate (stated in the listing, or computed from its stated income and price when no rate is stated), listings last observed October 12, 2026. Asking cap rates are not closed-sale cap rates. The middle half is the range from the 25th to the 75th percentile of listings. The 10-year Treasury yield is 5.24% as of October 1, 2026 (FRED series DGS10). Ratings are the agency ratings in our ratings database for the entity shown, which may be a parent company; the rating type (for example issuer, senior unsecured debt, long-term debt or revenue bond ratings) varies by company and is shown on each tenant page. A rating applies to a lease only if the rated entity signs or guarantees it, so confirm the tenant and any guarantor in the lease. n/a means no verified rating is on file.

Asking cap rates vary with location, building vintage, lease structure and remaining lease term. Asking cap rates are not closing cap rates.

In the listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks, the middle half of Starbucks asking prices runs from about $2.40M to $3.28M, with a median near $2.84M (prices vary with location, building quality and lease structure).

For how credit ratings and net lease pricing fit together, see our investment grade guide.

Starbucks Real Estate Footprint

Starbucks operated about 18,400 stores in North America as of June 28, 2026, including roughly 7,200 licensed locations. The footprint includes freestanding drive-through buildings, spaces in multi-tenant retail centers, and licensed locations inside other businesses. Single-tenant Starbucks net lease properties are often freestanding drive-through buildings on pad sites.

Starbucks Growth & Expansion Outlook

Starbucks is pruning its North American store base while it opens new stores. In fiscal 2025 it opened 509 and closed 620 US company-operated stores, according to its 10-K. On September 22, 2026, its board approved closing about 1% of its more than 18,000 North American coffeehouses (about 250 stores), mostly by the end of fiscal 2026, with about $300 million of restructuring charges, roughly $200 million of them in cash and primarily for lease exit costs and severance. Starbucks now expects about 440 net new global openings in fiscal 2026, down from prior guidance of 600 to 650.

For landlords, this means store-level performance matters even with a corporate tenant: a closing store may keep paying rent, negotiate an exit, or leave a dark building at lease end. Check store performance where available and the strength of the site for a replacement user. Our ratings database lists Starbucks Corporation as investment grade, and its turnaround has restored comparable sales growth.

Starbucks NNN Investment: Pros & Cons

Comparable NNN Tenants