--- ticker: SBUX company: Starbucks Corporation filing_type: 10-K year_current: 2026 year_prior: 2025 risks_added: 0 risks_removed: 1 risks_modified: 24 risks_unchanged: 4 source: SEC EDGAR url: https://riskdiff.com/sbux/2026-vs-2025/ markdown_url: https://riskdiff.com/sbux/2026-vs-2025/index.md access: public_preview generated: 2026-11-14 --- # Starbucks Corporation: 10-K Risk Factor Changes 2026 vs 2025 > Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) > Generated: 2026-11-14 > Disclosure text is extracted from official filings. Automated extraction and matching can contain errors. ## Disclosure overview 24 matched sections have text edits; 4 have identical text after formatting cleanup. 0 current and 1 earlier sections lack a one-to-one match. Business-risk direction: **Undetermined**. Text changes do not measure financial impact. ## Summary | Status | Count | |--------|-------| | No prior section match | 0 | | No current section match | 1 | | Changed wording | 24 | | Unchanged | 4 | --- ## Selected change This public preview includes one change. Research access provides the complete comparison and historical data. ## Changed wording: Our business is subject to evolving regulatory and stakeholder demands and expectations, including with respect to responsible business matters, that could expose us to numerous risks. [2026: Our business is subject to evolving regulatory and stakeholder demands and expectations, including with respect to responsible business matters, that could expose us to numerous risks.](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/829224/000082922426000162/sbux-20260927.htm#:~:text=Our%20business%20is%20subject%20to%20evolving%20regulatory%20and%20stakeholder%20demands%20and%20expectations%2C%20including%20with%20respect%20to%20responsible%20business%20matters%2C%20that%20could%20expose%20us%20to%20numerous%20risks.) — printed page 19 [2025: Our business is subject to evolving corporate governance and public disclosure regulations and expectations, including with respect to responsible business matters, that could expose us to numerous risks.](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/829224/000082922425000114/0000829224-25-000114-index.htm) — exact passage unavailable; open filing **Key changes:** - Removed sentence: "These rules - often inconsistent across jurisdictions - can increase compliance uncertainty and administrative costs." - Removed sentence: "Additionally, growing stakeholder focus on responsible business matters has led to heightened expectations and regulatory requirements, such as extended producer responsibility obligations that relate to our product packaging, the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or the state of California's new climate change disclosure requirements." - Removed sentence: "The evolving obligations may increase compliance costs and the risk of noncompliance." - Removed sentence: "Implementing responsible business initiatives and reporting progress can be costly, complex, and subject to evolving standards, assumptions, and internal controls." - Added sentence: "These regulatory requirements and expectations - often inconsistent across jurisdictions - can increase compliance uncertainty and administrative costs, as well as operational and financial risks." - Added sentence: "For example, implementing responsible business initiatives and reporting progress can be costly, complex, and subject to evolving standards, assumptions, and governance and regulatory requirements and expectations." - Added sentence: "Compliance with evolving regulatory requirements, such as the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or the product packaging regulations adopted or contemplated by several states and numerous international jurisdictions has become increasingly complex." - Added sentence: "At the same time, certain regulators and lawmakers in the U.S. have scrutinized and may continue to scrutinize our responsible business initiatives and related disclosures." - Added sentence: "The evolving and diverging regulatory obligations and expectations have and may continue to increase compliance complexity, costs and the risk of actual or perceived noncompliance, especially where regulations vary by jurisdiction." - Added sentence: "We are also subject to evolving and diverging regulations and voluntary disclosure frameworks from various stakeholders." - Removed sentence: "Failure to meet targets or goals adopted in connection with our responsible business initiatives or otherwise respond to stakeholder expectations on these topics could harm our reputation, reduce customer loyalty, and adversely affect our financial performance." - Removed sentence: "Inadequate progress on responsible business initiatives may also erode trust, trigger negative publicity, litigation, or boycotts, and expose us to civil or criminal liability." - Removed sentence: "Objections from third parties or governments to these initiatives may result in reputational harm, administrative, legislative, or public backlash, or other adverse action, and could negatively impact our financial results or business performance." - Removed sentence: "Such consequences could also result from actual or perceived changes to the scope or extent of our responsible business initiatives, or any discontinuation thereof." - Removed sentence: "Objections may come both from those who believe these initiatives are overly ambitious or inappropriate, and from those who believe they are not ambitious enough." - Removed sentence: "As focus on these issues from consumers, government actors, and other stakeholders intensifies, the risks described in this section may increase." - Added sentence: "Actual or perceived failure to meet targets or goals adopted in connection with our responsible business initiatives (including updates, adjustments or retirement of such targets or goals), actual or perceived changes to the scope or extent of such initiatives (or any discontinuation thereof), or actual or perceived inadequate progress on such initiatives, or other actual or perceived failure to respond to stakeholder expectations on these topics (including the perception that our initiatives are inappropriate because they are insufficient or because they are too extensive) could harm our reputation, reduce customer loyalty, and adversely affect our business performance." - Added sentence: "Such developments may also erode trust, trigger negative publicity, litigation, or boycotts, and expose us to civil or criminal liability." - Added sentence: "Objections from third parties or governments may result in reputational harm, administrative, or public backlash, or other adverse action, and could negatively impact our financial results or business performance." - Added sentence: "Given the increasing intensity of, and divergence in, expectations on many responsible business topics from regulators, customers, partners, investors, and other stakeholders, the risk that we will fail to meet at least some stakeholder expectations increases, and the risks described in this section may increase as a result." - Added sentence: "We regularly engage with shareholders to strengthen the Company and enhance long-term value." - Added sentence: "However, activist campaigns can result in significant costs, including legal expenses and diversion of management and Board attention." - Added sentence: "Public activism may also create uncertainty about our strategic direction, strain relationships with stakeholders, hinder talent recruitment, and cause stock price volatility unrelated to business fundamentals." - Added sentence: "Shareholders with substantial holdings may influence key decisions, including director elections, mergers, and amendments to governing documents." - Added sentence: "These risks could materially affect our business and operating results." **Prior (2025):** We are subject to evolving and increasingly complex laws and regulations from various authorities and regulatory bodies. These rules - often inconsistent across jurisdictions - can increase compliance uncertainty and administrative costs. Additionally, growing stakeholder focus on responsible business matters has led to heightened expectations and regulatory requirements, such as extended producer responsibility obligations that relate to our product packaging, the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or the state of California's new climate change disclosure requirements. The evolving obligations may increase compliance costs and the risk of noncompliance. Implementing responsible business initiatives and reporting progress can be costly, complex, and subject to evolving standards, assumptions, and internal controls. Public disclosures may be criticized for accuracy or completeness, and previously reported data may require future adjustments. Failure to meet targets or goals adopted in connection with our responsible business initiatives or otherwise respond to stakeholder expectations on these topics could harm our reputation, reduce customer loyalty, and adversely affect our financial performance. Inadequate progress on responsible business initiatives may also erode trust, trigger negative publicity, litigation, or boycotts, and expose us to civil or criminal liability. Objections from third parties or governments to these initiatives may result in reputational harm, administrative, legislative, or public backlash, or other adverse action, and could negatively impact our financial results or business performance. Such consequences could also result from actual or perceived changes to the scope or extent of our responsible business initiatives, or any discontinuation thereof. Objections may come both from those who believe these initiatives are overly ambitious or inappropriate, and from those who believe they are not ambitious enough. As focus on these issues from consumers, government actors, and other stakeholders intensifies, the risks described in this section may increase. **Current (2026):** We are subject to evolving and increasingly complex laws and regulations from various authorities and regulatory bodies. These regulatory requirements and expectations - often inconsistent across jurisdictions - can increase compliance uncertainty and administrative costs, as well as operational and financial risks. For example, implementing responsible business initiatives and reporting progress can be costly, complex, and subject to evolving standards, assumptions, and governance and regulatory requirements and expectations. Compliance with evolving regulatory requirements, such as the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or the product packaging regulations adopted or contemplated by several states and numerous international jurisdictions has become increasingly complex. At the same time, certain regulators and lawmakers in the U.S. have scrutinized and may continue to scrutinize our responsible business initiatives and related disclosures. The evolving and diverging regulatory obligations and expectations have and may continue to increase compliance complexity, costs and the risk of actual or perceived noncompliance, especially where regulations vary by jurisdiction. We are also subject to evolving and diverging regulations and voluntary disclosure frameworks from various stakeholders. Public disclosures may be criticized for accuracy or completeness, and previously reported data may require future adjustments. Actual or perceived failure to meet targets or goals adopted in connection with our responsible business initiatives (including updates, adjustments or retirement of such targets or goals), actual or perceived changes to the scope or extent of such initiatives (or any discontinuation thereof), or actual or perceived inadequate progress on such initiatives, or other actual or perceived failure to respond to stakeholder expectations on these topics (including the perception that our initiatives are inappropriate because they are insufficient or because they are too extensive) could harm our reputation, reduce customer loyalty, and adversely affect our business performance. Such developments may also erode trust, trigger negative publicity, litigation, or boycotts, and expose us to civil or criminal liability. Objections from third parties or governments may result in reputational harm, administrative, or public backlash, or other adverse action, and could negatively impact our financial results or business performance. Given the increasing intensity of, and divergence in, expectations on many responsible business topics from regulators, customers, partners, investors, and other stakeholders, the risk that we will fail to meet at least some stakeholder expectations increases, and the risks described in this section may increase as a result. We regularly engage with shareholders to strengthen the Company and enhance long-term value. However, activist campaigns can result in significant costs, including legal expenses and diversion of management and Board attention. Public activism may also create uncertainty about our strategic direction, strain relationships with stakeholders, hinder talent recruitment, and cause stock price volatility unrelated to business fundamentals. Shareholders with substantial holdings may influence key decisions, including director elections, mergers, and amendments to governing documents. These risks could materially affect our business and operating results. --- ## Source filings - [2026 10-K filing on SEC EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/829224/000082922426000162/0000829224-26-000162-index.htm) - [2025 10-K filing on SEC EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/829224/000082922425000114/0000829224-25-000114-index.htm) [View the full comparison with Research](https://riskdiff.com/sbux/2026-vs-2025/full/) *Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. Page generated 2026-11-14; source filing dates vary.*