"Trying to Jump Over a Shark": Starbucks Is Eyeing a Chipotle Acquisition — FT

Shares of the Mexican restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill surged after the Financial Times reported that Starbucks was interested in acquiring it. The newspaper claims that the coffee chain has been working with advisors in recent months on a bid to acquire Chipotle. Analysts foresee very different consequences for these companies should the deal go through.

During trading in New York on October 8, Chipotle shares rose 8.5% to $33.4. This is the highest level since September 22. Starbucks shares, by contrast, fell as much as 6.7% at one point, marking their steepest intraday decline in more than a year, Bloomberg noted. Chipotle shares are now trading 12% lower than they were at the start of 2026 (taking Thursday’s gain into account). Starbucks shares have risen 5.5% since January.

The FT was unable to determine the current status of Starbucks' plans. The deal between the companies may not go through, its sources noted. Starbucks and Chipotle did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

A potential deal could accelerate Chipotle’s international expansion, Reuters reports, citing analysts. “What I like is the opportunity that will arise for [Starbucks] CEO Brian Nicola to leverage Starbucks’ licensing partnerships in Europe to expand Chipotle more aggressively,” noted Northcoast Research analyst Jim Sanderson in the agency’s report. As of the end of 2025, Chipotle had nearly 4,000 restaurants in the U.S. and about 100 abroad, while Starbucks had 18,000 in North America and about 40,000 worldwide, Reuters added.

“The timing of this move seems a bit odd, given that Starbucks is in the midst of a transformation and has not yet shown the improvement in margins that investors may be hoping for. At first glance, this looks less like a powerful catalyst for transformation and more like an attempt to jump over a shark (to undergo changes at one’s own expense, signaling the end of a successful period. — Oninvest),” noted Brian Jacobsen, senior economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management (quoted by Reuters).

Starbucks CEO Brian Nicol had been leading Chipotle before joining the company. Under the terms of the agreement, Starbucks will pay him a total of $113 million, the FT reported: the amount includes bonuses and unvested stock options that he forfeited at Chipotle. The agreement is one of the largest in the history of American companies, the newspaper claimed.

Two years later, under Nikola's leadership, Starbucks returned to sales growth. Amid intensifying competition and consumer caution, the company focused on improving the customer experience, reducing service times, and updating its product lineup, which helped reverse the downward trend in revenue in the last quarter.

Despite weak performance this year, analysts generally recommend buying Chipotle stock: it has 27 "Buy" and "Overweight" ratings versus 12 "Hold" ratings, according to MarketWatch.

Analysts are taking a more cautious approach to Starbucks stock: the most common recommendation is to hold (21 “Hold” ratings), with one-third fewer recommendations to buy (14 “Buy” and “Overweight” ratings), and three analysts believe the stock should be sold (with “Sell” and “Underweight” ratings).

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor