August 2025 calendar: Back-to-school, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, college football, more
With no major holidays in August, students across the country can focus on school while still enjoying the last full month of summer.
Millions are also preparing for a long weekend at the end of the month as most people leave for the long Labor Day weekend on the Thursday or Friday before the holiday, which falls on a Monday, according to AAA.
Here's everything you need to know about what August has in store.
Are there any federal holidays in August?
No, there are no federal holidays in August. It is one of only three months, including March and April, in 2025 that do not have a federal holiday.
In total, 2025 has 12 federal holidays across 11 days, according to the Office of Personnel Management. The next one, Labor Day, will fall on Monday, September 1.
When does back-to-school season start?
While some students return to school in late July and September, the vast majority will start in August. Most universities also begin their fall semesters in August, so it's back to class for many colleges and the start of rush season for sororities and fraternities.
Parents and students can do some back-to-school shopping and get deals on specific items that will be tax-free. The following states are holding their sales tax holiday in August:
See full list: States with sales tax holidays coming up.
When does the Pumpkin Spice Latte return to Starbucks?
Whether you love it or hate it, the Pumpkin Spice Latte will return to Starbucks' menu on Tuesday, Aug. 26. The return of the "PSL is often seen as the unofficial start to pumpkin spice season when many restaurants and other retailers start offering up pumpkin spice-flavored items.
Start of college football season, US Open
More sports are coming back!
The much-anticipated college football season will return on Saturday, August 23. One of the biggest games that day will be Iowa State vs. Kansas State as they will play in Ireland. Other big matchups for the month include Texas vs. Ohio State, Alabama vs. Florida State and Notre Dame vs. Miami.
The US Open will also return on August 19 for the Mixed Doubles Day Session at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York.
August religious holidays
There are multiple religious holidays in August, though they are not considered major holidays in the United States.
The following are some of the holidays and traditional celebrations throughout the month, according to Diversity Resources:
When is the full moon in August?
August's full moon, the Sturgeon Moon, will peak on Saturday, August 9, at 3:55 a.m. ET, and the new moon will fall on Saturday, August 23, at 2:06 a.m., according to the Farmer's Almanac.
Other astronomy events occurring in August included the peak of the Perseids meteor shower, which occurs the night of Tuesday, August 12 to the morning of Wednesday, Aug 13.
August National Days
August has a few cute and fun national days, according to National Day Calendar. Including the following:
See August 2025 calendar
Contributing: Betty Lin-Fisher, USA TODAY
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com
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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Starbucks' problems may be too big to fix
Starbucks' problems may be too big to fix originally appeared on TheStreet. In its early days, Starbucks' approach was unique. Unlike rivals like Dunkin', Tim Hortons, and breakfast diners, its mission wasn't to provide one coffee for everyone as fast as possible. Instead, it treated making coffee like a craftsman makes fine furniture, focusing on the highest-quality product, regardless of how long it takes. That approach helped Starbucks grow from a single store in Seattle, Washington, to a coffee powerhouse with 32,000 stores located in just about every nook and cranny of the globe, including: Over 18,000 stores in North America. About 2,800 stores in Europe. More than 6,500 stores in China. Roughly 1,300 stores in the Middle East and North Africa. 1,800 locations in Latin America, including more than 70 in Colombia, putting Starbucks about as close to the coffee's origins as possible. With that kind of growth, and plenty of shareholders eager for ever-increasing profits, it's pretty unsurprising that Starbucks has dealt with growing pains. The company has faced controversies over worker pay (and what they wear), as well as customer complaints over inconsistent drink tastes, food freshness, and, more generally, the rise of a less-relaxed cafe vibe, too focused on boosting transactions and profit margin. The situation has left many scratching their heads, wondering if Starbucks' new CEO, Brian Niccol, can get things back on track. Longtime hedge fund manager Doug Kass is among the doubters. He recently sent a particularly harsh message about Starbucks, suggesting Niccol's strategy to get Starbucks back to its roots is unlikely to pan out. Starbucks comes under fire from Wall Street Starbucks' () stock price financed a good chunk of the company's global expansion. Investors eagerly bought shares early in the company's growth phase to profit from the opportunity for its customer-first approach to dislodge market share from rivals like Tim Hortons and Dunkin'. Longtime shareholders have been handsomely rewarded, given that Starbucks shares have surged since its IPO in 1992. A $10,000 investment then would be worth over $3 million many investors' love affair with Starbucks has faded since the company has mostly saturated major U.S. markets like New York and California, reducing chances for sales growth. Its share price is up just 15% over the past five years, while the S&P 500 has climbed 89%. In 2025, Starbucks' stock price has fallen nearly 5%. With Starbucks stores seemingly everywhere, longtime hedge fund manager Doug Kass suggests the company's strategy nowadays is less about reimagining coffee houses and more about milking as much money out of existing locations as possible. Such an approach can boost earnings in the short term, but it poses a significant long-term risk to Starbucks' brand. '[Starbucks] morphed into overpriced purveyors of food/coffee — while the quality of their product offering has deteriorated and the selling cost of the product has risen,' wrote Doug Kass in a post to investors on TheStreet Pro. It's not just the coffee, either. While many may think Starbucks bakes its treats on site, many are previously frozen. 'I couldn't create a danish as unappealing,' said Kass, who has managed money professionally for about 50 years. Starbucks' worker relationship has soured over time Some Starbucks employees agree that the company's mission has lost its way. It was once highly recognized as a pioneer in employee pay, offering solid wages and a 'partner' approach to its workers. Employees, however, have increasingly explored unionization in recent years, saying the faster-paced environment is taking a heavy toll on its once-lauded baristas, and pay hasn't kept pace. Starbucks' response to unionization has drawn fire from worker advocates who suggest management has engaged in union-busting decisions. For example, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has accused the company of firing or disciplining workers, including the high-profile case involving the 'Memphis 7,' seven workers terminated after advocating unionization. That case went to the Supreme Court, where an earlier court decision to grant an injunction supporting the workers was reversed in Starbucks' favor, and the case was sent back to the lower courts. The first corporate Starbucks location to unionize was in Buffalo in 2021, led by Starbucks Workers United. As of August 2025, workers at over 600 Starbucks stores across the U.S. have voted to unionize, according to Workers United. Starbucks turnaround plan faces uphill battle The company's frayed relationship with some employees isn't the only problem CEO Brian Niccol is trying to fix. Niccol joined Starbucks as CEO in 2024 after over six years at the helm of Chipotle. Shortly after Niccol took over as Starbucks' CEO, he acknowledged 'a shared sense that we have drifted from our core' and announced his 'Back To Starbucks" plan to get the company back on track, focusing on a 'welcoming coffeehouse where people gather and where we serve the finest coffee, handcrafted by our skilled baristas.' However, those comments and Niccol's plans sound hollow to Kass. 'When he got to Starbucks, Niccol started off by using fancy jargon to distract from the fact that Starbucks is losing to both value and premium brands/operators,' wrote Kass. 'Starbucks now faces a very expensive overhaul in its physical locations and product offerings.' Starbucks faces fierce competition from big and small rivals Starbucks' competitive advantage hasn't been lost on rivals. Big rivals like Dunkin' and McDonald's have expanded menus, including popular refreshers, while local mom-and-pop cafes have leaned hard into the artisanal coffee house back market share from those players won't be easy. As a result, Niccol's overhaul could pressure Starbucks' profits while ultimately doing little to restore Starbucks's culture, disappointing investors. 'The brand is now very weak competitively — they aren't premium (artisans, local brands, etc.) and the previous also-rans are coming in hot with smaller footprints,' said Kass. 'From a product standpoint, they sell more chemicals, sugar and ice — it's not coffee.' Undeniably, many remain loyal Starbucks fans, but there are more choices, and with less connection to the employees, the moat of loyalty isn't nearly as strong as it was in the past. 'It is the Regal Cinemas concession stand without the movies. The notion that the baristas want to hang with the customers has been lost,' said Kass. 'I suspect the turnaround in both companies will take a lot longer than the consensus expects.' To be sure, Starbucks' challenges aren't unique. Indeed, most companies experiencing the kind of success it has experienced deal with similar issues. Still, the hyper-competitive coffee market and the challenges facing Niccol leave Kass thinking that there are better alternatives for investors. 'I would not bottom fish despite the material share-price weakness,' concluded problems may be too big to fix first appeared on TheStreet on Aug 3, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared. Sign in to access your portfolio
Miami Herald
8 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Starbucks' problems may be too big to fix
In its early days, Starbucks' approach was unique. Unlike rivals like Dunkin', Tim Hortons, and breakfast diners, its mission wasn't to provide one coffee for everyone as fast as possible. Instead, it treated making coffee like a craftsman makes fine furniture, focusing on the highest quality product regardless of how long it takes. That approach helped Starbucks grow from a single store in Seattle, Washington, to a coffee powerhouse with 32,000 stores located in just about every nook and cranny of the globe, including: Over 18,000 stores in North 2,800 stores in than 6,500 stores in 1,300 stores in the Middle East and North Africa. 1,800 locations in Latin America, including more than 70 in Colombia, putting Starbucks about as close to the coffee's origins as possible. With that kind of growth, and plenty of shareholders eager for ever-increasing profits, it's pretty unsurprising that Starbucks has dealt with growing pains. The company has faced controversies over worker pay (and what they wear), and customer complaints over inconsistent drink tastes, food freshness, and, more generally, the rise of a less-relaxed cafe vibe, too focused on boosting transactions and profit margin. The situation has left many scratching their heads, wondering if Starbucks' new CEO, Brian Niccol, can get things back on track. Long-time hedge fund manager Doug Kass is among the doubters. He recently sent a particularly harsh message about Starbucks, suggesting Niccol's strategy to get Starbucks back to its roots is unlikely to pan out. Image source: Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images Starbucks' (SBUX) stock price financed a good chunk of the company's global expansion. Investors eagerly bought shares early in the company's growth phase to profit from the opportunity for its customer-first approach to dislodge market share from rivals like Tim Hortons and Dunkin'. Long-time shareholders have been handsomely rewarded, given that Starbucks shares have surged since its IPO in 1992. A $10,000 investment then would be worth over $3 million today. Related: Starbucks abandons key strategy to embrace its past However, many investors' love affair with Starbucks has faded since the company has mostly saturated major US markets like New York and California, reducing chances for sales growth. Its share price is up just 15% over the past five years, while the S&P 500 has climbed 89%. In 2025, Starbucks' stock price has fallen nearly 5%. With Starbucks stores seemingly everywhere, long-time hedge fund manager Doug Kass suggests the company's strategy nowadays is less about reimaging coffee houses and more about milking as much money out of existing locations as possible. Such an approach can boost earnings in the short term, but it poses a significant long-term risk to Starbucks' brand. "[Starbucks] morphed into overpriced purveyors of food/coffee - while the quality of their product offering has deteriorated and the selling cost of the product has risen," wrote Doug Kass in a post to investors on TheStreet Pro. It's not just the coffee, either. While many may think Starbucks bakes its treats on site, many are previously frozen. "I couldn't create a danish as unappealing," said Kass, who has managed money professionally for about 50 years. Some Starbucks employees agree that the company's mission has lost its way. It was once highly recognized as a pioneer in employee pay, offering solid wages and a "partner" approach to its workers. Employees, however, have increasingly explored unionization in recent years, saying the faster-paced environment is taking a heavy toll on its once-lauded baristas, and pay hasn't kept pace. Starbucks' response to unionization has drawn fire from worker advocates who suggest management has engaged in union-busting decisions. For example, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has accused the company of firing or disciplining workers, including the high-profile case involving the "Memphis 7," seven workers terminated after advocating unionization. That case went to the Supreme Court, where an earlier court decision to grant an injunction supporting the workers was reversed in Starbucks' favor, and the case was sent back to the lower courts. The first corporate Starbucks location to unionize was in Buffalo in 2021, led by Starbucks Workers United. As of August 2025, workers at over 600 Starbucks stores across the US have voted to unionize, according to Workers United. The company's frayed relationship with some employees isn't the only problem CEO Brian Niccol is trying to fix. Niccol joined Starbucks as CEO in 2024 after over six years at the helm of Chipotle. Shortly after Niccol took over as Starbucks' CEO, he acknowledged, "a shared sense that we have drifted from our core" and announced his "Back To Starbucks' plan to get the company back on track, focusing on a "welcoming coffeehouse where people gather and where we serve the finest coffee, handcrafted by our skilled baristas." However, those comments and Niccol's plans sound hollow to Kass. "When he got to Starbucks, Niccol started off by using fancy jargon to distract from the fact that Starbucks is losing to both value and premium brands/operators," wrote Kass. "Starbucks now faces a very expensive overhaul in its physical locations and product offerings." Starbucks' competitive advantage hasn't been lost on rivals. Big rivals like Dunkin' and McDonald's have expanded menus, including popular refreshers, while local mom-and-pop cafes have leaned hard into the artisanal coffee house vibe. Related: McDonald's to test five crazy new drinks Winning back market share from those players won't be easy. As a result, Niccol's overhaul could pressure Starbucks' profits while ultimately doing little to restore Starbucks's culture, disappointing investors. "The brand is now very weak competitively - they aren't premium (artisans, local brands, etc.) and the previous also-rans are coming in hot with smaller footprints," said Kass. "From a product standpoint, they sell more chemicals, sugar and ice - it's not coffee." Undeniably, many remain loyal Starbucks fans, but there are more choices, and with less connection to the employees, the moat of loyalty isn't nearly as strong as it was in the past. "It is the Regal Cinemas concession stand without the movies. The notion that the baristas want to hang with the customers has been lost," said Kass. "I suspect the turnaround in both companies will take a lot longer than the consensus expects." To be sure, Starbucks' challenges aren't unique. Indeed, most companies experiencing the kind of success it has experienced deal with similar issues. Still, the hyper-competitive coffee market and the challenges facing Niccol leave Kass thinking that there are better alternatives for investors. "I would not bottom fish despite the material share-price weakness," concluded Kass. Related: Why did stocks tumble this week? The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why Starbucks must start delivering big-time
I have had a checkered history with Starbucks (SBUX). As an analyst during the Howard Schultz CEO era, I would camp out in stores for days studying everything the chain was doing wrong (and right). The stock was always priced for perfection, and I was trying to ensure that clients wouldn't be left holding the bag. My ensuing critical research reports weren't well-received by Starbucks. I still remember Schultz telling me to f*** off at an analyst day. I wasn't amused in the moment by a billionaire's lack of verbal control, but the next morning, I was back to my chipper self. You can't take this stuff personally. More than a decade later, I'm now a journalist with no bones to pick with Starbucks — just one providing context on this important stock. Current Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is hard to root against. I originally met him at a Taco Bell investor day in New York City, maybe nine years ago. He was a good leader then and a better one today with a successful Chipotle (CMG) turnaround under his belt. The problem is that Starbucks' business isn't yet showing the Niccol magic. You can see the seeds he planted beginning to sprout — service times improving, sales not falling off a cliff, menus streamlining. In the quarter announced this week, the company teased a "wave" of innovation such as protein cold foam coffee, shorter mobile order pickup times, and a potential sale of part of the struggling China business. But again, Niccol's magic beans have barely sprouted green shoots, with Niccol almost one full year into the job. What Starbucks delivered in the quarter: Operating profit margins crashed in every business segment year over year. Overall operating margins plunged 660 basis points from a year ago. US same-store sales fell 2% on the back of a 4% traffic drop. Earnings per share tanked 46% from a year ago. No guidance provided. "Unfortunately, I think there were some choices made before me that really set us back on our ability to create that great customer connection between our barista and customer and provide the type of customer service that the Starbucks brand, frankly, is known for," Niccol told me on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid (watch above). Some investors are clinging to the positives Niccol noted during the earnings call. They include low double-digit percentage same-store sales growth at college locations, improved transaction trends in the US toward the end of the quarter, and the aforementioned "wave" of menu innovation. Starbucks will also spend $500 million during the next year on increased labor investments — shy of Street whispers of about $1 billion. The company even teased the potential to reach peak operating margins again. But at this point, investors should be questioning when the inflection moment is in Starbucks' business, and what that inflection actually looks like. The turnaround wasn't in the just-completed quarter. It is unlikely to be the current quarter. Then, mix in high tariffs on coffee beans (including a 50% rate on Brazilian imports) and cautious US consumers. The stock has dropped 9% over the past week. But the valuation may still be too caffeinated. Shares trade on a price-to-earnings multiple of 31x forward earnings estimates as investors price in a Niccol-led comeback. That's asking a lot in the economic climate and against the backdrop of competitors like Dutch Bros. (BROS), Luckin (LKNCY), and countless others serving premium coffee. "More questions than answers ahead as investments into the biz stacking up and only some early signs of progress being made so far; we think downside risk is under-appreciated and rate the stock Underperform," Jefferies analyst Andy Barish wrote in a note. I worry Niccol has set the bar too high for short-term results, risking a letdown for hopeful investors if there isn't a clear inflection next quarter. Yahoo Finance's Invest Conference is coming up! Join me and the Yahoo Finance newsroom for our annual Invest conference, taking place in New York City, November 12-13. We just added a couple of new speakers to an already awesome lineup, with more on the way. Learn more about the conference and register today! Trust me, you will want to be in this room ahead of 2026. Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email
