Starbucks Denies Chipotle Acquisition, Shares React as Chipotle Slides

SBUX said on Monday, October 12, that it is not buying CMG. "Starbucks is not buying Chipotle," a spokesperson told CNBC, and the company's statement was relayed on X as "we want to be clear we are not buying Chipotle". The denial follows a Financial Times report on Thursday, October 8, that Starbucks had been working with advisers on a takeover proposal in recent months, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal would have been the biggest restaurant takeover ever.

The rumor had moved both stocks in opposite directions: Chipotle rose on the reports while Starbucks fell, as Starbucks shareholders worried about an expensive distraction during the coffee chain's own turnaround. The denial reversed that. Chipotle fell more than 2% in premarket trading and Starbucks rose more than 1%; by late morning, SentiSense data showed Chipotle down about 4.4% at $30.22 and Starbucks up about 1.7% at $92.30.

The context explains why the story had legs. Brian Niccol, Starbucks' CEO, previously ran Chipotle. Chipotle is trying to recover from a rocky 2025 in which restaurant traffic fell, and its shares are down about 20% over the past year, which made it a cheaper target. Earlier in October, Semafor reported that Chipotle had hired advisers to defend against activist investors or an unwanted takeover bid. Chipotle had not commented on the denial in the reports reviewed.

What to watch: with Starbucks out, attention turns to whether Chipotle's defense preparations point to other interest, activist or otherwise, and to both companies' upcoming quarterly results for evidence on their turnarounds. Separately, Starbucks recently raised its dividend by 1.6%, to a yield of about 2.8%, despite a high payout ratio.