Starbucks announced on Monday that its classic Pumpkin Spice Latte will be returning to store menus later this month.

The popular drink will be joined by new beverages and food items, as well as limited-time merchandise collections.

While the classic Pumpkin Spice Latte returns on Aug. 25, Starbucks will add new pumpkin spice-flavored drinks, including the Iced Pumpkin Cream Shaken Espresso, Pumpkin Spice Chai and Iced Pumpkin Cream Matcha. The Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai and Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino blended beverage will also return.

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The Pumpkin Spice Latte is returning to Starbucks’ menu on Aug. 25. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

A new iced banana bread-flavored latte and chai drink will join the company’s fall menu, as will the Chaider – a beverage featuring a blend of chai and cider-inspired flavors.

A new Chicken Bacon Protein Pocket and a Hedgehog Cake Pop will also join store menus this fall. The protein pocket is the latest addition to Starbucks’ broader push to expand its protein offerings.

The new Chicken Bacon Protein Pocket contains 20 grams of protein. (Starbucks)

Starbucks is offering new drinkware and a hat as part of its PSL Society collection.

The announcement comes after the company reported third-quarter results last week.

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Starbucks raised its annual sales and profit forecasts for the second time, as CEO Brian Niccol’s years-long turnaround efforts reignite demand at the world’s largest coffee chain.

Under Niccol, the company has aimed to improve customer experience through a simplified menu and shortened wait times, fueling four straight quarters of comparable sales growth.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround plan is called “Back to Starbucks.” (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

“We have more work to do,” Niccol said in a statement on Wednesday, while finance chief Cathy Smith said the company is focused on what it can control amid a “dynamic operating environment.”

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The Seattle-based company forecast global same-store sales growth of near 6%, above its prior forecast of about 5% or above. It expects adjusted earnings per share to be between $2.55 and $2.65, compared with its previous forecast of $2.25 to $2.45.

“Starbucks has begun to experience market share stabilization in recent months, most notably with younger diners,” Consumer Edge analyst Michael Gunther said.

“Consumers may be shifting dining dollars toward in-home eating but are leaving room in the budget for daily drink habits,” he added.

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The “Back to Starbucks” strategy had been squeezing margins, as it involved heavy investments in staffing and store operations, which the company has looked to tackle with cost cuts through layoffs, office consolidation and streamlining its operations.

Reuters contributed to this report.

American consumers are continuing to face elevated beef prices amid an ongoing cattle shortage, which is also hitting the bottom line of major meatpacking companies.

The U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest level in over 70 years due to drought reducing forage areas in key ranching regions, which forced ranchers to liquidate cattle. 

Ranchers are also facing higher operating costs for feed, labor, fuel and equipment, while some live cattle imports have also been constrained due to concerns over diseases affecting livestock.

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Beef prices have risen 11.8% over the last year and increased 1.2% on a monthly basis in June, according to the most recent consumer price index (CPI) data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ground beef prices were up 12.4% from a year ago, while beef roasts were up 13.8% and steaks were up 11.4% in that period.

Tyson Foods noted the challenges in its beef business in its earnings call Monday, with CEO Donnie King saying, “Beef hasn’t performed the way we expected, and we’re not pretending otherwise.”

U.S. cattle inventories are at their lowest level in over 70 years. (Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News)

He noted the “well-documented challenges of the current cattle cycle” and said that Tyson’s beef segment operated at a loss of $138 million with sales volume down 15.9% and pricing up 12.1% as “constrained supply pushed input costs and pricing higher.”

The Tyson Foods CEO also discussed the recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that it will resume imports of cattle from Mexico starting in late August for the first time in more than a year.

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Tyson Foods reported losses in its beef division, and the price surge caused by supply shortages turned consumers away. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Cattle imports from Mexico were suspended due to an outbreak of the New World screwworm, which poses a threat to domestic livestock. USDA’s monitoring has noted 44 cases of New World screwworm in the U.S. since June, with cases concentrated in Texas and New Mexico.

The USDA’s resumption of imports will be flexible and will start at the Douglas, Arizona, port of entry after the neighboring Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua have been identified as the lowest-risk Mexican states for the New World screwworm.

The agency cited those Mexican states’ “strong, well-established inspection programs” and geographic distance from southern Mexico, where most of the cases have been concentrated.

BEEF PRICES HIT RECORD HIGHS AS NATIONWIDE CATTLE INVENTORY DROPS TO LOWEST LEVEL IN 70 YEARS

King said the “recent announcement of a phased reopening of the Mexican border for the importation of cattle shows potential improvements to long-term cattle availability.”

“Although the reopening won’t have a material impact on the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends in September, it does provide the potential for some level of improvement in 2027 and beyond,” King added. 

“To be clear, the reopening of the Mexican border will not solve the entire gap of beef losses we are currently seeing. We are not waiting passively for the cattle cycle to turn, and we continue to focus on improving the variables within our control.”

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump lashed out at ExxonMobil and Chevron on Monday, accusing the two oil giants of making excessive profits from surging crude prices tied to the ongoing conflict with Iran and demanding they lower prices for American consumers.

Speaking to reporters at the White House during an executive order signing, Trump singled out both companies by name over their recently reported second-quarter earnings. “Chevron, too much money. ExxonMobil, too much money,” Trump said, adding that the companies “better cut the retail price, the consumer price” and return some of their profits to the public.

Record profits amid a supply shock

Trump’s comments followed second-quarter earnings reports last week that showed both companies posting sharply higher profits compared with the same period a year earlier. ExxonMobil reported earnings of $14.5 billion for the quarter, roughly double what it earned during the same period last year. Chevron reported $12 billion in quarterly profit, up from $2.5 billion a year earlier, marking a roughly 400% increase and the company’s highest quarterly earnings in at least six years. Combined, the two oil majors posted $26.5 billion in second-quarter earnings.

“They’re making too much money based on a shortage,” Trump said, framing the profits as a direct consequence of the supply disruption caused by the conflict rather than normal market performance. “I don’t like it.”

Oil prices surge as the Strait of Hormuz remains contested

The earnings windfall for both companies has come amid a dramatic run-up in oil prices since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. U.S. crude oil prices have climbed roughly 20% since the conflict began, with oil futures averaging around $92 per barrel from April through June, about 27% higher than the first quarter of the year. Iran has retaliated by attempting to choke off oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping corridor, triggering what has been described as the largest supply disruption in the region’s history.

Those higher crude prices have translated directly into pain at the pump for American drivers. Gasoline prices averaged about $4.10 per gallon nationwide on Monday, according to AAA data, nearly 40% higher than the $2.98 per gallon drivers paid on Feb. 27, the day before the war began.

Trump pressures companies to share profits

Trump was blunt in his demand that the oil companies pass along relief to consumers, drawing a direct comparison between the scale of their profit growth and what he argued they owed the public in return. “When you look at one company, where they made 12 times what they made the year before, they’re going to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price,” Trump said.

The president acknowledged the apparent tension between his criticism and his broader economic philosophy, noting his general support for free markets even as he pushed the companies to act. “I should be the last one to say it because I’m a big free enterprise guy,” he said, adding, “Nobody bigger.” Still, he made clear his frustration with the current situation. “I’ll say it loud and clear. I’m not happy about it,” Trump said.

A prediction of falling prices ahead

Despite his criticism of the oil companies’ current profits, Trump expressed optimism that prices would ease significantly once the conflict with Iran concludes, predicting that oil prices would “drop through the floor” when the war ends. His comments came as he separately addressed the state of ongoing negotiations with Iran, describing the current round of talks as Iran’s “last chance” to reach a deal and accusing Iranian leadership of being “unbelievably duplicitous” in recent discussions with Oman over safe navigation routes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Where the profits are going

According to reporting on the companies’ earnings, both ExxonMobil and Chevron directed their windfall profits primarily toward reducing existing debt rather than increasing share buybacks, a detail that stands somewhat apart from the more consumer-focused response Trump has called for. Neither company had issued a public response to Trump’s comments as of Monday, though shares of both companies dipped modestly following his remarks, with Chevron falling nearly 2% and Exxon trading slightly lower.

A politically charged issue

Trump’s public criticism of the oil industry echoes similar rhetoric used by his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, who also targeted oil companies over their profits during periods when inflation was weighing heavily on American consumers. The political stakes tied to gas prices appear significant for Trump as well: a Quinnipiac University poll found that 54% of voters blame the president “a lot” for the recent rise in gasoline costs, a finding that comes as the administration faces broader scrutiny over its handling of both the Iran conflict and its economic fallout ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Market context

Even as Trump criticized the oil companies’ profits, broader oil markets showed signs of easing Monday, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, falling nearly 5% to around $83 per barrel amid growing optimism that a diplomatic resolution to the Iran conflict may be within reach. That decline came the same day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high, driven in part by falling oil prices and a broader rally in technology stocks.

With earnings season for the major oil companies now largely behind investors, attention is likely to shift toward whether Exxon and Chevron respond in any way to Trump’s public pressure, and whether ongoing diplomatic talks between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz produce the kind of resolution the president has suggested could send oil prices sharply lower. Until then, American drivers are likely to continue facing elevated prices at the pump, keeping pressure on both the White House and the oil industry as the conflict’s economic fallout continues to unfold.

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