Game of Throne’s clanger hands Starbucks (SBUX, $78.02) free advertising worth billions
It's rumored that American coffee giant Starbucks garnered an estimated $2.3 billion in free advertising when a similar looking coffee cup was spotted in one of the episodes of the HBO fantasy epic ‘Game of Thrones.' It was later revealed, however, that it was just a craft services cup!
Close viewers could easily spot a cup incongruous to the setting of the drama and though the label was muddled in the show, within hours the speculation that it could be a Starbucks cup went viral on social media.
Following this coffee cup hullabaloo, analysts tallied 10,627 mentions of Starbucks coffee and ‘Game of Thrones’ together across different online, TV and radio broadcasts across the world. Separately, social media and monitoring platforms like Talkwalker counted more than 193,000 mentions within 48 hours on social media platforms like Twitter.
Experts say it's impossible to quantify how much free advertising Starbucks gets out of this, but they were all unanimous to agree on the power of Starbucks brand. But in reality, public response has more been to HBO’s mistake on placing that cup on the sets than on the coffee cup itself.
If the cup were a product placement, then it would have cost six figures. But since HBO is not ad-supported, advertisers typically do not pay for product placement but supply the product to the show offsetting the cost of production rather than pay a flat fee for their products to appear. And all of this came free to Starbucks thanks to HBO’s silly mistake!
The 5th May episode of Game of Thrones drew 11.8 million viewers for its first airing, down ~2% from the prior week.
SBUX in upward trend: 10-day moving average moved above 50-day moving average on November 14, 2025
The 10-day moving average for SBUX crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on November 14, 2025. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In of 19 past instances when the 10-day crossed above the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on November 25, 2025. You may want to consider a long position or call options on SBUX as a result. In of 90 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for SBUX just turned positive on November 25, 2025. Looking at past instances where SBUX's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in of 51 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
SBUX moved above its 50-day moving average on November 21, 2025 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.
Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where SBUX advanced for three days, in of 296 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
SBUX may jump back above the lower band and head toward the middle band. Traders may consider buying the stock or exploring call options.
Bearish Trend Analysis
The Stochastic Oscillator entered the overbought zone. Expect a price pull-back in the foreseeable future.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where SBUX declined for three days, the price rose further in of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating very strong sales and a profitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating steady price growth. SBUX’s price grows at a higher rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is fair valued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (0.000) is normal, around the industry mean (5.566). P/E Ratio (53.442) is within average values for comparable stocks, (37.776). SBUX's Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (3.081) is very high in comparison to the industry average of (1.621). Dividend Yield (0.028) settles around the average of (0.062) among similar stocks. P/S Ratio (2.670) is also within normal values, averaging (8.323).
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating that the returns do not compensate for the risks. SBUX’s unstable profits reported over time resulted in significant Drawdowns within these last five years. A stable profit reduces stock drawdown and volatility. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 83, placing this stock better than average.
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General Information
a producer of coffee and tea
Industry Restaurants
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