Fiscal 2018 Annual Report UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, DC 20549 Form 10-K ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2018 or TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to . Commission File Number: 0-20322 Starbucks Corporation (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter) Washington 91-1325671 (State of Incorporation) (IRS Employer ID) 2401 Utah Avenue South, Seattle, Washington 98134 (206) 447-1575 (Address of principal executive offices, zip code, telephone number) Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of Each Class Name of Each Exchangegg on Which Registered Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share Nasdaq Global Select Market Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes No Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submittedd pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes No Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation of S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Large accelerated filer Accelerated filer Non-accelerated filer Smaller reporting company Emerging growth company If an emerging growth company, indicate by checkmark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes No The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, based upon the closing sale price of the registrant’s common stock on April 1, 2018 as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market was $77.8 billion. As of November 9, 2018, there were 1,240.6 million shares of the registrant’s Common Stock outstanding. DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement for the registrant’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on March 20, 2019 have been incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. STARBUCKS CORPORATION Form 10-K For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I Item 1 Business 2 Item 1A Risk Factors 10 Item 1B Unresolved Staff Comments 18 Item 2 Properties 18 Item 3 Legal Proceedings 18 Item 4 Mine Safety Disclosures 18 PART II Item 5 Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 19 Item 6 Selected Financial Data 21 Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 24 Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 47 Item 8 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 48 Index For Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 53 Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 88 Item 9 Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 89 Item 9A Controls and Procedures 89 Item 9B Other Information 91 PART III Item 10 Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 92 Item 11 Executive Compensation 92 Item 12 Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters 92 Item 13 Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 92 Item 14 Principal Accounting Fees and Services 92 PART IV Item 15 Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 93 SIGNATURES 100 CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “seeks” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs, such as “will,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “aims,” “intends,” or “projects.” A forward-looking statement is neither a prediction nor a guarantee of future events or circumstances, and those future events or circumstances may not occur. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements are all based on currently available operating, financial and competitive information and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Our actual future results and trends may differ materially depending on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties discussed under “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not rely on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Any or all of the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and any other public statement made by us, including by our management, may turn out to be incorrect. We are including this cautionary note to make applicable and take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Starbucks Corporation 2018 Form 10-K 1 PART I Item 1. Business General Starbucks is the premier roaster, marketer and retailer of specialty coffee in the world, operating in 78 markets. Formed in 1985, Starbucks Corporation’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”) under the symbol “SBUX.” We purchase and roast high-quality coffees that we sell, along with handcrafted coffee, tea and other beverages and a variety of high-quality food items through company-operated stores. We also sell a variety of coffee and tea products and license our trademarks through other channels such as licensed stores, grocery and foodservice accounts. In addition to our flagship Starbucks Coffee brand, we sell goods and services under the following brands: Teavana, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Evolution Fresh, La Boulange, Ethos, Starbucks Reserve and Princi. Our objective is to maintain Starbucks standing as one of the most recognized and respected brands in the world. To achieve this, we are continuing the disciplined expansion of our global store base, adding stores in both existing, developed markets such as the U.S., and in newer, higher growth markets such as China, as well as optimizing the mix of company-operated and licensed stores around the world. In addition, by leveraging the experience gained through our traditional store model, we continue to offer consumers new coffee and other products in a variety of forms, across new categories, diverse channels and alternative store formats. We also believe our Starbucks Global Social Impact strategy, commitments related to ethically sourcing high-quality coffee, contributing positively to the communities we do business in and being an employer of choice are contributors to our objective. In this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“10-K” or “Report”) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018 (“fiscal 2018”), Starbucks Corporation (together with its subsidiaries) is referred to as “Starbucks,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our.” Segment Financial Information Segment information is prepared on the same basis that our management reviews financial information for operational decision-making purposes. On August 26, 2018, our Channel Development segment finalized licensing and distribution agreements with Nestlé S.A. (“Nestlé”) to sell and market our consumer packaged goods (“CPG”) and foodservice products and received an upfront prepaid royalty payment of approximately $7 billion. As a result, we realigned our organizational and operating segment structures in support of the newly established Global Coffee Alliance. The scope of the arrangement converts the majority of our previously defined Channel Development segment operations, as well as certain smaller businesses previously reported in the Americas, EMEA and Corporate and Other (previously All Other Segments), to licensed operations with Nestlé, and our reportable segments have been restated as if those smaller businesses were previously within our Channel Development segment.