Starbucks Corp.'s Proposed $500 Million Senior Unsecured Notes Rated 'A-'

NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 1, 2016--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'A-' issue-level rating to Starbucks Corp.'s proposed $500 million senior unsecured notes. We expect the company to issue the proposed notes under its shelf registration statement filed Sept. 3, 2013. We understand Starbucks will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes including repurchase of its shares, payment of a cash dividend, or to fund a possible acquisition. Pro forma for the proposed debt issuance, adjusted debt to EBITDA will increase to 1.1x from 1.0x at Dec. 27, 2015. Starbucks' performance trends are robust, reflecting continued good same-store sales and profit gains as it expands its store footprint, mainly in international markets. It also remains focused on

...NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Feb. 1, 2016--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'A-' issue-level rating to Starbucks Corp.'s proposed $500 million senior unsecured notes. We expect the company to issue the proposed notes under its shelf registration statement filed Sept. 3, 2013. We understand Starbucks will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes including repurchase of its shares, payment of a cash dividend, or to fund a possible acquisition. Pro forma for the proposed debt issuance, adjusted debt to EBITDA will increase to 1.1x from 1.0x at Dec. 27, 2015. Starbucks' performance trends are robust, reflecting continued good same-store sales and profit gains as it expands its store footprint, mainly in international markets. It also remains focused on product innovation and technology initiatives that we think helped boost customer traffic and in-store efficiency. We believe as Starbucks grows profits, it could issue additional debt to offset earnings growth and use the...

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