Analysts are mostly optimistic about Starbucks’s new CEO, and they see the upcoming Investor Day as the “next big catalyst.”
Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) said yesterday after the stock market closed that Laxman Narasimhan will take over as CEO on April 1, 2023.
Howard Schultz is the CEO of the coffee chain until Narasimhan can take over.
Even though Narasimhan will start working at the company right away, he will be Schultz’s advisor until Schultz learns more about the business. Narasimhan is coming from Reckitt Benckiser (OTC:RBGLY), where he was most recently CEO. He used to work for PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) for seven years. During that time, he was the Global Chief Commercial Officer. Narasimhan worked as a partner at McKinsey & Company before joining PepsiCo.
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A Goldman Sachs analyst thinks that SBUX’s new CEO will be a good choice, especially since the company is getting ready for this month’s much-anticipated Investor Day.
In a client note, the analyst said, “We expect that his experience at several consumer companies, broad geographical knowledge, and, most importantly, a cultural fit with SBUX’s purpose-driven mission should set him up well to succeed as SBUX CEO.”
On September 13, Starbucks will hold its investor day every two years. Schultz is expected to give details about Starbucks’ “Reinvention” strategy, which should be Narasimhan and his team’s main focus.
The analyst says that the event will be mostly about “how the US consumer is changing and how Starbucks is “reinventing” itself to meet the needs of a new generation of consumers.”
A Credit Suisse analyst also talked about the upcoming Investor Day, which is seen as the “next big catalyst for the stock.”
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The analyst expects SBUX to “introduce its Reinvention Plan and lay out new long-term goals supported by plans focused on culture, the in-store partner experience, reimaging of stores (layout, equipment, channels), and customer engagement.”
Shares of Starbucks are up about 1% before the market opens on Friday.
