The Wall Street Journal recently reported that an activist investor hedge fund, Starboard Value, has taken an undisclosed stake in coffee shop chain Starbucks (SBUX).

It’s a complicated situation as Starbucks is already “in talks to strike a settlement agreement” with another activist investor hedge fund, Elliott Investment Management. In July, the Journal reported that Elliott had “built a sizable stake in” Starbucks and was “pushing the coffee giant privately on ways to boost its stock price.”

This raises several questions. Will Starboard and Elliott attempt to get seats on Starbucks’ board of directors? If so, how many?

Furthermore, what if the two activist investors seek to implement conflicting strategies for Starbucks? Could a ‘board war’ ensue?

Change needed at Starbucks

Despite these concerns, Starbucks stock advanced on Monday morning, presumably in response to the Starboard news. Perhaps this suggests that Starbucks’ investors desperately want to see the company make changes, even if it means one or more activist investors taking the reins.

Understandably, Starbucks’ shareholders want to see major changes. In the firm’s fiscal third quarter, global same-store sales declined 3% year over year, after the company’s same-store sales had already fallen 4% in the first quarter.

All in all, Q3 2024 wasn’t great for Starbucks. The company’s revenue slipped 1% year over year to $9.1 billion, while Wall Street’s analysts expected $9.25 billion.

Meanwhile, Starbucks’ quarterly earnings of $0.93 per share represented a 6% year-over-year decline. This result aligned with the analysts’ consensus call for earnings of $0.93 per share, but that’s nothing to write home about.

CEO reassurance doesn’t quell concerns

On the company’s earnings call, Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan stated outright that the firm is “not satisfied with the results”. He seemed to echo the sentiment of many shareholders, as SBUX stock is down 18% to 19% year to date, even after Monday’s share-price pop.

However, Narasimhan did his best to reassure Starbucks’ investors during the second-quarter conference call. “We are making real progress on our three-part plan,” he declared, referring to the company’s turnaround strategy.

Narasimhan added: “We are focused on what we can control in a consumer environment that can be best be described as complex. Our teams are moving with urgency.”

It’s fine for company to move with “urgency,” but the proof will be in the pudding for Starbucks, which continues to struggle with soft sales in China.

Don’t take a sip of Starbucks stock yet

Without a doubt, the stockholders want to see Narasimhan and Starbucks tackle the challenge of acquiring and retaining customers during a time of frustratingly elevated food-price inflation. That’s easier said than done, so maybe an activist investor (or two) can provide some much-needed corporate reform.

But then, all of that remains to be seen. Currently, investors don’t even know the size of Elliott’s Starbucks stake, not to mention the activist investor’s intentions with the coffee purveyor. Moreover, a ‘board war’ could do more harm than good for Starbucks as a business venture.

In sum Starbucks stock traders may have celebrated too quickly on Monday morning. It’s wise for investors to let the proverbial coffee brew for a while as these corporate-level developments are still ongoing and Starbucks’ financials are, like an hour-old cup of joe, growing cold.

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