Following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, at least 211 companies issued statements condemning the attack, including Starbucks, which published a statement on October 11 expressing sympathy for “the innocent in Israel and Gaza.” One week later, Starbucks sued its workers’ union for a post on X (formerly Twitter) stating “Solidarity with Palestine!” Starbucks argued that the post caused confusion, upset customers, and damaged its reputation.
Since these events Starbucks has lost nearly $12 million in market value. But is Starbucks’ ostensible support for Israel what caused its financial troubles? And more broadly, does public support for Israel yield economic losses?
To begin to examine this question, the INSS Data Analytics Desk collected data on 71 publicly listed firms in the United States that issued public statements condemning Hamas’s attack. Our analysis provides preliminary results suggesting that support for Israel following these attacks has not negatively affected company performance. On contrary, on average, we see slight gains for the firms after the statements were made.
Following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, at least 211 companies issued statements condemning the attack, including Starbucks, which published a statement on October 11 expressing sympathy for “the innocent in Israel and Gaza.” One week later, Starbucks sued its workers’ union for a post on X (formerly Twitter) stating “Solidarity with Palestine!” Starbucks argued that the post caused confusion, upset customers, and damaged its reputation.
Since these events Starbucks has lost nearly $12 million in market value. But is Starbucks’ ostensible support for Israel what caused its financial troubles? And more broadly, does public support for Israel yield economic losses?
To begin to examine this question, the INSS Data Analytics Desk collected data on 71 publicly listed firms in the United States that issued public statements condemning Hamas’s attack. Our analysis provides preliminary results suggesting that support for Israel following these attacks has not negatively affected company performance. On contrary, on average, we see slight gains for the firms after the statements were made.