Starbucks reports CEO Brian Niccol earned US$31 million in 2025

[NEW YORK] Starbucks chief executive officer Brian Niccol total compensation was US$31 million in fiscal 2025, a decline from the previous year when he received stock rewards and other incentives as part of a package to lure him over from Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Niccol’s 2025 pay includes a US$5 million bonus and nearly US$20 million in stock awards, according to a filing from the coffee chain on Monday (Jan 26). In fiscal 2024, Niccol’s compensation was US$96 million, the filing shows, and included a stock award of more than US$90 million.

Niccol, who took the helm of Starbucks in September of 2024, was awarded one of the largest pay packages among executives at the time. He’s looking to reinvigorate growth at the massive restaurant operator, which has tens of thousands of locations across 80 countries. His plan, dubbed “Back to Starbucks”, has started to show some results, but he has yet to fully convince investors.

Starbucks stock slumped 7.7 per cent in 2025, the fourth consecutive annual decline. Niccol’s pay package for the fiscal year was limited by the shares’ decline, which caused him to miss out on performance-based compensation.

Last quarter, the company posted comparable sales growth for the first time in a year and a half, driven by strong results in its international operations.

The company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday morning, followed by an investor presentation on Thursday where analysts expect the company to offer financial targets for the first time since Niccol became CEO. BLOOMBERG