Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Mar. 28, 2021

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Recent Accounting Pronouncements (Policies)

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Financial Statement Preparation

The unaudited consolidated financial statements as of March 28, 2021, and for the quarter and two quarters ended March 28, 2021 and March 29, 2020, have been prepared by Starbucks Corporation under the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In the opinion of management, the financial information for the quarter and two quarters ended March 28, 2021 and March 29, 2020 reflects all adjustments and accruals, which are of a normal recurring nature, necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods. In this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (“10-Q”), Starbucks Corporation is referred to as “Starbucks,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our.”

Certain prior period information on the consolidated statements of cash flows has been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.

The financial information as of September 27, 2020 is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements and notes for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2020 (“fiscal 2020”) included in Item 8 in the Fiscal 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K (“10-K”). The information included in this 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the footnotes and management’s discussion and analysis of the consolidated financial statements in the 10-K.

The results of operations for the quarter and two quarters ended March 28, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that may be achieved for the entire fiscal year ending October 3, 2021 (“fiscal 2021”). Additionally, our 2021 fiscal year will include 53 weeks, with the 53rd week falling in the fourth fiscal quarter.

The novel coronavirus, known as the global pandemic COVID-19, was first identified in December 2019 before spreading to markets where we have company-operated or licensed stores. We have since established the necessary protocols to operate safely, and our businesses continue to recover as sales in the U.S. and China, our two lead growth markets, have returned to roughly pre-pandemic levels. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2021, nearly all our company-operated and licensed stores have re-opened; however, many were operating at less than full capacity.

Government Subsidies

On March 27, 2020, the U.S. government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), which among other things, provides employer payroll tax credits for wages paid to employees who are unable to work during the COVID-19 outbreak and options to defer payroll tax payments for a limited period. Based on our evaluation of the CARES Act, we qualify for certain employer payroll tax credits as well as the deferral of payroll tax payments in the future. Additionally, the Canadian government enacted the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”) to help employers offset a portion of their employee wages for a limited period. We elected to treat qualified government subsidies from the U.S., Canada and other governments as offsets to the related operating expenses. During the quarter and two quarters ended March 28, 2021, qualified payroll and other credits reduced our store operating expenses by $97.4 million and $117.2 million, respectively, on our consolidated statement of earnings. During the quarter ended March 29, 2020, the qualified payroll tax credits reduced our store operating expenses by approximately $35 million on our consolidated statement of earnings. After netting the qualified credits against our payable, a receivable of $158.6 million was included in prepaid expenses and other current assets as of March 28, 2021. During the quarter and two quarters ended March 28, 2021, we deferred $5.2 million and $81.7 million, respectively, of qualified payroll tax payments, and as of March 28, 2021, deferred payroll tax payments of $116.4 million were included in both accrued liabilities and other long-term liabilities, respectively, on our consolidated balance sheets.

Restructuring

In fiscal 2020, we announced a plan to optimize our North America store portfolio, primarily in dense metropolitan markets by developing new store formats to better cater to changing customer tastes and preferences. As of March 28, 2021, we expect the total number of closures to be approximately 800 stores in the U.S. and Canada and have identified 760 stores for closure under our restructuring plans. As a result we recorded approximately $23.0 million and $95.2 million to restructuring and impairments on our consolidated statement of earnings during the quarter and two quarters ended March 28, 2021, respectively. Of these totals, $8.6 million and $51.2 million related to the impairment of store assets for which either a triggering event occurred and the assets were determined not to be recoverable or the store was permanently closed, respectively. During the quarter and two quarters ended March 28, 2021, an additional $14.4 million and $44.0 million, respectively, was associated with accelerated amortization of right-of-use (“ROU”) lease assets due to planned store closures prior to the end of contractual lease terms. For impaired store asset groups, we estimated the fair values using an income approach incorporating internal projections of revenue growth and operating expenses that are considered Level 3 fair value measurements, as well as applicable discount

rates and market lease rates. The application of these projections and fair value measurements did not have a significant impact on our final impairment decisions given that we plan to fully exit the majority of these identified stores over the next 9 to 12 months.

We expect total future restructuring costs, which are attributable to our Americas segment, to be approximately $30 million to $40 million. These restructuring costs primarily include accelerated amortization or impairments of ROU assets due to planned store closures prior to the end of contractual lease terms. The remaining balance includes store impairment and disposal costs not previously recorded as part of our ongoing store impairment process and employee termination costs. As we have previously recorded impairment charges for stores that may be identified for closure under our plans, and because store closure decisions are still subject to change, the final costs associated with these store closures may vary from these estimates. These costs will depend on the asset carrying value and remaining lease term of the specific stores identified. Future restructuring costs are expected to be incurred primarily over the next 9 to 12 months as stores are specifically identified for closure or, in the case of lease exit costs, either when a store ceases operations or when a reduced lease term is reasonably certain due to expected, early lease termination.

As of March 28, 2021, restructuring liabilities totaling $21.4 million were included in current and non-current operating lease liability for the remaining outstanding rent liabilities due to landlords. The associated expense was recognized in fiscal 2020 or during the first two quarters of fiscal 2021 for stores that were either closed or reasonably certain to close under the plan. Additionally, $10.4 million of accrued employee termination costs was included in accrued payroll and benefits. Cash payments were $23.2 million for the first two quarters of fiscal 2021.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued guidance replacing the incurred loss impairment methodology with a new methodology that reflects current expected credit losses on financial assets, including receivables and available-for-sale securities. The new methodology requires entities to estimate and recognize expected credit losses each reporting period. The guidance was adopted during the first quarter of fiscal 2021 under the modified retrospective approach and resulted in a $2.2 million transition adjustment to opening shareholders' retained deficit on our consolidated statements of equity.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

In March 2020, the FASB issued guidance related to reference rate reform. The pronouncement provides temporary optional expedients and exceptions to the current guidance on contract modifications and hedge accounting to ease the financial reporting burden related to the expected market transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates. The guidance was effective upon issuance and generally can be applied to applicable contract modifications through December 31, 2022. We are currently evaluating the impact of the transition from LIBOR to alternative reference rates but do not expect a significant impact to our consolidated financial statements.