When Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol walks into a Starbucks store, he’s there for more than just coffee, egg bites, or a chocolate croissant. He chats up the company’s employees to take a measured business temperature.
According to Niccol, the baristas he speaks with have a vested interest in the company’s success. In a conversation with investors at the Starbucks 2026 investors day meeting, Niccol said many employees he encounters tend to ask him about the company’s stock. “When I walk into stores, they will ask me, ‘What do you think is going on with the stock price?’” Niccol said. “I love it because, you know, that means they care.”
The CEO of the world’s largest coffee chain said that interest extends beyond financial motivation, saying that Starbucks employees, or “partners,” as the company refers to them, ask from a place of pride. “You want to be at a company that you care about being a part of,” Niccol said. “You want to be at a company that you think makes a difference in the community, that community that you live in.”
Starbucks has for years aimed to bolster employee engagement by fostering an “ownership mentality” among workers. Created in 1991, Starbucks’ “Bean Stock” program gives employees the ability to invest in the company’s stock and share in the outcome of its performance. The idea is that Starbucks employees, no matter their rank, can develop a more personal tie to the company’s success.
Starbucks’ stock price has been remarkably stable for the past five years, with the $100 billion company down more than 5% over that span.
Shifting workplace priorities
Niccol arrived at Starbucks from Chipotle in September 2024. At the helm of the coffee chain, Niccol has attempted a revamp with various workplace initiatives, including a four-day back-to-work mandate for corporate employees last October, requiring remote workers to move to either Seattle or Toronto in 12 months and impacting hundreds of employees. The move was meant to enhance connection among staff and bring Starbucks back to its core strengths, according to the company.
At Starbucks stores, the company revised the dress code for baristas, suggesting employees wear solid black tops and remove ear gauges larger than a quarter. The company also established a rule requiring workers to write a note on customers’ cups like “You’re amazing” and “Seize the day,” according to a company memo.
In the past, Starbucks has distinguished itself from other chain stores by offering benefits atypical for hourly workers, including health benefits for part-time employees and free college tuition via a partnership with Arizona State University. At Chipotle, Niccol implemented a similar tuition policy as CEO in 2019, offering free college to all employees enrolling for business or tech degrees.
Yet the pressure to rebuild a positive workplace has become a pressing concern among Starbucks leadership. The company faces an ongoing strike from Starbucks Workers United since last November. The “Red Cup Rebellion,” as the union calls it, has extended through to today as Starbucks and union leaders have failed to negotiate a labor contract that meets the union’s demands of better staffing and higher pay. The strike has involved less than 1% of its coffeehouses, and it continues at fewer than 20 locations, per the company.
Niccol said at the investor day meeting he aims to cultivate career success and a sense of workplace satisfaction among his employees. “We’re going to give you a great career professionally; we’re also going to get terrific opportunities personally,” Niccol said. “It’s a place you can be really proud of, to tell your friends and family you work at Starbucks.”
The CEO’s remarks made clear his vision to cast Starbucks as a preferred place of work for all hourly employees. “We want to be a different kind of company. We want to be the kind of company that people can have a career with.”
