Court Dismisses Claims Starbucks Misled Investors About Declining Traffic
By Katherine Hamilton
A court ruled in favor of Starbucks in a lawsuit brought by shareholders claiming the coffee chain misled investors.
The ruling issued by a federal court judge in Seattle on Wednesday dismissed claims that Starbucks misinformed investors about customer traffic numbers during the company's first-quarter earnings call in January 2024.
The group of plaintiffs, led by three pension plans, alleged that Starbucks made misleading statements and omitted information to try to hide that store traffic was declining in China and the U.S.
Starbucks argued that its executives were discussing historical data on the call, rather than real-time numbers that might have shown declining traffic.
The company also claimed that its executives didn't make any "flagrantly false" statements during the call.
Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 16, 2026 12:35 ET (16:35 GMT)
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