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Alibaba Group Holding Limited vs Starbucks
BABA vs SBUX — return on capital, cash generation, margins and balance sheet side by side.
BABA
4 / 10
measures where BABA leads
SBUX
6 / 10
measures where SBUX leads
A simple count of which company scores better on each measure — not a recommendation to buy or sell.
| Measure | BABA · FY2026 | SBUX · FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.02T | $37.2B |
| Net income | $103.6B | $1.9B |
| Revenue growth (yearly, multi-year) | 4.7% | 6.4% |
| Free cash flow | (50.7B) | $2.4B |
| Free cash flow margin | -5.0% | 6.6% |
| Net cash / (debt) | (86.1B) | (23.4B) |
| ROIC | 2.8% | 11.6% |
| Return on equity | 10.0% | — |
| Gross margin | 39.8% | 22.8% |
| Operating margin | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.32x | 2.73x |
Figures are as reported by each company; latest fiscal year shown.
Where Alibaba Group Holding Limited's cash went (FY2026)
- Capital spending
- $126.9B
- Buybacks
- $7.6B
- Dividends
- $33.7B
- Acquisitions
- $12.1B
- Net debt issued / (repaid)
- $39.0B
Where Starbucks's cash went (FY2025)
- Capital spending
- $2.3B
- Buybacks
- $0
- Dividends
- $2.8B
- Acquisitions
- $177.1M
- Net debt issued / (repaid)
- $493.1M
Ask which business is stronger
"Which one reinvests at higher returns?" "Who carries more risk in its filings?" Get answers drawn straight from both companies' filings.
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