Are the worlds of frappuccinos and guacamole colliding? If recent reporting proves out, that could be the case.
Starbucks is exploring a potential takeover of Chipotle, in what would amount to a restaurant megadeal, according to reporting from The Financial Times on Thursday. The story says that the deal would be the largest restaurant merger ever, as Chipotle is worth roughly $41 billion — although it’s unclear whether Starbucks had actually made an offer for the burrito chain, or if it was only in discussion.
Notably, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol previously held the same title at Chipotle and moved to the coffee giant in 2024. Since then, Chipotle has struggled, at least in the markets. Over the past year, Chipotle’s stock is down 19.4%, while Starbucks’ stock is up 11.5%. The rumored takeover news, however, has had the opposite effect. On Thursday, Chipotle’s stock was up more than 7% as of 1:30 PM ET, and Starbucks’ was down 4.5%.
Again, though, it’s unclear how serious the rumored merger is, and if it is, how it would be facilitated. Starbucks is the second-largest dining chain in the world by market cap, trailing only McDonald’s, with a value of roughly $103 billion. Chipotle’s value is, as noted, around $41 billion, and the combined company would rival McDonald’s size, and leave every other company well behind.
But there are hurdles. “These deals may sound good on paper, but in reality they are exceedingly difficult to execute,” Jonathan Maze, the Editor-in-Chief of Restaurant Business Magazine, wrote on X.
“Jack in the Box bought Del Taco and started thinking it’d be a multi-brand operator. That lasted three years. And Del Taco is undoing a bunch of things that Jack in the Box did. For instance, Jack switched some of Del Taco’s ingredients to save money and achieve some of those ‘synergies’ these deals promote. Customers hated the changes.”
Niccol, since moving to Starbucks, has made sweeping changes at the company as well. He’s renovated stores, added thousands of seats to its cafes, added more staff, simplified the menu, and added personal touches—such as baristas writing messages on cups. He’s also closed hundreds of stores to help improve the company’s bottom line.
