IHG vs. SBUX: InterContinental Hotels vs. Starbucks Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX) both belong to the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry, though IHG is classified under Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines while SBUX falls under Restaurants.

Starbucks (SBUX) trades as ordinary local shares, while InterContinental Hotels (IHG) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Company profile comparison for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX)
Profile Item	IHG	SBUX
Name	InterContinental Hotels Group PLC ADR	Starbucks Corp.
Country/Region	United Kingdom	United States
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Services	Consumer Services
GICS Industry	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure
GICS Sub-Industry	Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines	Restaurants
Market Capitalization	26.05 billion USD	120.18 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	April 10, 2003	June 26, 1992
Security Type	ADR	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

IHG

SBUX

GSPC

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX)
Metric	IHG	SBUX
Total Return (1Y)	39.88%	31.93%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	37.41%	4.92%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	22.58%	1.66%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

IHG

SBUX

GSPC

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX)
Metric	IHG	SBUX
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	25.00%	27.71%
Beta (5Y)	1.09	0.99
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-32.78%	-39.80%
Avg. Volume (3M)	213.26K	7.66M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

IHG and SBUX are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX)
Metric	IHG	SBUX
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.42	1.00
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.31	1.62

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Neither InterContinental Hotels (IHG) nor Starbucks (SBUX) reports a ROE value for this period, so a direct comparison isn’t possible.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

Max: 76.75%
Q3: 34.07%
Median: 15.90%
Q1: 3.23%
Min: -40.61%
IHG: --

SBUX

Consumer Services industry group

Max: 76.75%
Q3: 34.07%
Median: 15.90%
Q1: 3.23%
Min: -40.61%
SBUX: --

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): Neither stock reports ROE, so the chart shows available benchmark boxes without value markers.

Net Margin (TTM)

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 13.40% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Starbucks (SBUX) at 6.67%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

13.40%

Max: 25.52%
IHG: 13.40%
Q3: 12.95%
Median: 6.63%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -14.36%

SBUX

Consumer Services industry group

6.67%

Max: 25.52%
Q3: 12.95%
SBUX: 6.67%
Median: 6.63%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -14.36%

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 25.12% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Starbucks (SBUX) at 12.76%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

25.12%

Max: 49.05%
IHG: 25.12%
Q3: 24.35%
Median: 14.23%
Q1: 5.67%
Min: -16.47%

SBUX

Consumer Services industry group

12.76%

Max: 49.05%
Q3: 24.35%
Median: 14.23%
SBUX: 12.76%
Q1: 5.67%
Min: -16.47%

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX)
Metric	IHG	SBUX
ROE (TTM)	--	--
ROA (TTM)	15.51%	8.56%
Net Margin (TTM)	13.40%	6.67%
Operating Margin (TTM)	25.12%	12.76%
Gross Margin (TTM)	60.97%	22.43%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Only one side can be read here: InterContinental Hotels (IHG) reports revenue growth of 5.40%, ranked against its industry; Starbucks (SBUX) has no revenue growth figure this period.

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: Starbucks (SBUX) reports EPS growth of 35.58%, ranked against its industry; InterContinental Hotels (IHG) has no EPS growth figure this period.

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX)
Metric	IHG	SBUX
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.40%	--
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.06%	--
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	35.58%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	33.17%	-14.85%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Starbucks (SBUX) at 0.76 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 0.66 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for IHG.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

0.66

Max: 3.41
Q3: 1.85
Median: 1.06
Q1: 0.72
IHG: 0.66
Min: 0.22

SBUX

Consumer Services industry group

0.76

Max: 3.41
Q3: 1.85
Median: 1.06
SBUX: 0.76
Q1: 0.72
Min: 0.22

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Neither InterContinental Hotels (IHG) nor Starbucks (SBUX) reports a debt-to-equity ratio value for this period, so a direct comparison isn’t possible.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

Max: 6.12
Q3: 2.93
Median: 1.29
Q1: 0.37
Min: 0.01
IHG: --

SBUX

Consumer Services industry group

Max: 6.12
Q3: 2.93
Median: 1.29
Q1: 0.37
Min: 0.01
SBUX: --

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): Neither stock reports debt-to-equity ratio, so the chart shows available benchmark boxes without value markers.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX)
Metric	IHG	SBUX
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.66	0.76
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.89	3.24

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Starbucks (SBUX) at 2.35% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 1.08% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, SBUX the richer one.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

1.08%

Max: 4.10%
Q3: 1.82%
IHG: 1.08%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SBUX

Consumer Services industry group

2.35%

Max: 4.10%
SBUX: 2.35%
Q3: 1.82%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Starbucks (SBUX) reports payout ratio above 100% at 142.77%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile InterContinental Hotels (IHG) reports 39.21%, ranking against industry peers normally.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

39.21%

Max: 89.80%
IHG: 39.21%
Q3: 36.83%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SBUX

Consumer Services industry group

142.77%

SBUX: 142.77%
Max: 89.80%
Q3: 36.83%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX)
Metric	IHG	SBUX
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.08%	2.35%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	39.21%	142.77%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 37.95 and Starbucks (SBUX) at 47.70 sit in the richer earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, so investors are paying more for TTM earnings than they pay for typical peers.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

37.95

Max: 71.70
IHG: 37.95
Q3: 37.12
Median: 21.88
Q1: 13.00
Min: 5.72

SBUX

Consumer Services industry group

47.70

Max: 71.70
SBUX: 47.70
Q3: 37.12
Median: 21.88
Q1: 13.00
Min: 5.72

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at 4.89 and Starbucks (SBUX) at 3.17 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

4.89

Max: 6.40
IHG: 4.89
Q3: 3.01
Median: 1.54
Q1: 0.74
Min: 0.08

SBUX

Consumer Services industry group

3.17

Max: 6.40
SBUX: 3.17
Q3: 3.01
Median: 1.54
Q1: 0.74
Min: 0.08

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both InterContinental Hotels (IHG) at -53.91 and Starbucks (SBUX) at -15.67 report negative P/B ratio values, meaning both companies have negative book equity — neither multiple is meaningful for valuation.

IHG

Consumer Services industry group

-53.91

Max: 12.02
Q3: 5.58
Median: 2.37
Q1: 1.09
Min: -4.51
IHG: -53.91

SBUX

Consumer Services industry group

-15.67

Max: 12.02
Q3: 5.58
Median: 2.37
Q1: 1.09
Min: -4.51
SBUX: -15.67

InterContinental Hotels (IHG) vs. Starbucks (SBUX): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Starbucks (SBUX)
Metric	IHG	SBUX
P/E Ratio (TTM)	37.95	47.70
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.89	3.17
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-53.91	-15.67
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.51%	2.65%