$181M in unused gift cards spurs complaint

A group of unions filed a complaint against Starbucks with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, asking the agency to investigate how the coffee chain accounts for unused money left on customers’ stored-value cards and accounts. Starbucks claimed $181 million in revenue from money that wasn’t spent on gift cards and loyalty accounts in fiscal 2021, an uptick from about $145 million the previous year. The Strategic Organizing Center argues that Starbucks’s disclosures around unredeemed

credit are inadequate for investors.