Closing a coffeehouse costs money before it saves any, and Starbucks has now put a number on the bill. In a regulatory filing dated September 24, 2026, the company said it expects approximately $300 million of restructuring charges tied to shutting about 250 North American coffeehouses. Its board approved the latest round of actions on September 22 under the “Back to Starbucks” strategy.
The filing is an 8-K, the form public companies use to report events that matter to investors. Starbucks filed it under Item 2.05, the section reserved for costs of exiting or disposing of business activities, and paired it with a second item that cuts the company’s store-opening forecast.
Which stores are on the list
Starbucks has not published the addresses. The filing describes the targets only as coffeehouses that do not meet the expected coffeehouse experience and financial performance, and the Associated Press reported that the company has not said which stores are affected or how many are in the United States. Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams announced the closures in a letter to employees, according to the AP story carried by OPB. He wrote that “some coffeehouses continue to underperform despite the hard work and commitment of all of you.”
For the neighborhood regular, the practical question is simple: whether the shop around the corner is one of the 250, and the company’s own announcements have not answered it. The AP reported that closures were set to begin later in the week of September 24, and the filing expects the majority to be finished by the end of fiscal 2026.
Most of the closures are due to finish by the end of fiscal 2026, so the stores that go dark will do so on a schedule Starbucks has not detailed.
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How the $300 million splits
Of the roughly $300 million, the filing says approximately $200 million will be cash charges, mainly lease exit costs and employee separation benefits. The remaining $100 million is non-cash, tied to the disposal and impairment of assets at company-operated coffeehouses. A significant portion of the charges will be recorded in fiscal 2026, according to the company.
The cash figure matters because it covers two groups of people. Landlords holding leases on closing stores are one. Employees who are not placed elsewhere are the other. The AP reported that Starbucks will transfer employees to other stores where possible and provide severance support to those it cannot place. The filing gives no headcount and no job-loss figure.
Why store openings fall to about 440
The second item in the filing, Item 7.01, revises the company’s growth outlook. Net new company-operated and licensed openings worldwide for fiscal 2026 are now expected at approximately 440, down from prior guidance of 600 to 650. Starbucks says the revision reflects about 250 North American closures, partly offset by higher net new openings in international markets.
That is a drop of 160 to 210 openings from the earlier forecast. The company said it still sees a significant longer-term growth opportunity in North America and is building a new-store pipeline. Grams made the same point in his letter, telling employees the company remains committed to growing its North American store count.
The filing counts the closures against a base of more than 18,000 North American coffeehouses, and the company says the stores affected are the ones that fall short on experience and financial performance.
A second wave under Brian Niccol
This is the second large closure round under Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined in 2024. Last September, Starbucks closed 627 stores in North America and Europe and laid off 900 non-retail employees, the AP reported. In May, it cut 300 more corporate jobs and closed some underused U.S. offices.
Alongside the closures, the company has been retrofitting stores to be cozier and more inviting. It expected 1,500 stores retrofitted by September 30, the end of its fiscal year, the AP said. More than 700 U.S. stores have voted to unionize since late 2021, and the company and the union have not reached a labor agreement. The AP did not say how many of the closing stores are unionized.
Shares rose less than 1 percent in premarket trading on the day of the announcement, the AP reported.
Finding out whether a nearby store is closing
Because no list has been released, the first reliable signal is usually local: a notice posted at the store, word from the baristas, or a landlord filing in the town. The company’s filing itself is the one place the full numbers are laid out, and anyone who wants the exact wording of the charge estimates can read Items 2.05 and 7.01 there.
Employees at a closing store should ask for the transfer and severance terms in writing, since the filing treats separation benefits as a cash cost but does not spell out their size. Customers holding gift cards or app balances should check the terms printed on the card or in the app before a local store goes dark.
The next hard numbers will come in Starbucks’ regular earnings reports, where the company is expected to show how much of the $300 million has been booked and how many of the 250 coffeehouses have closed. The 8-K signed September 24 is the baseline against which those totals will be measured.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire’s editorial team.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
