diff --git a/operator-framework-core/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/operator/Operator.java b/operator-framework-core/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/operator/Operator.java
index 7aa29c98ae..5adc90182d 100644
--- a/operator-framework-core/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/operator/Operator.java
+++ b/operator-framework-core/src/main/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/operator/Operator.java
@@ -203,7 +203,12 @@ public synchronized void start() {
   public void stop() throws OperatorException {
     Duration reconciliationTerminationTimeout =
         configurationService.reconciliationTerminationTimeout();
+
     if (!started) {
+      // Always stop the executor service manager to prevent dangling threads,
+      // even if the operator didn't fully start
+      configurationService.getExecutorServiceManager().stop(reconciliationTerminationTimeout);
+
       return;
     }
     log.info(
diff --git a/operator-framework/src/test/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/operator/baseapi/StopWithoutStartIT.java b/operator-framework/src/test/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/operator/baseapi/StopWithoutStartIT.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fdf5865d3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/operator-framework/src/test/java/io/javaoperatorsdk/operator/baseapi/StopWithoutStartIT.java
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright Java Operator SDK Authors
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *         http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.baseapi;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Timeout;
+
+import io.fabric8.kubernetes.api.model.ConfigMap;
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.annotation.Sample;
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.Operator;
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.reconciler.Context;
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.reconciler.ControllerConfiguration;
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.reconciler.Reconciler;
+import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.reconciler.UpdateControl;
+
+@Sample(
+    tldr = "Stop Operator Without Starting",
+    description =
+        """
+        Demonstrates that an operator can be stopped without being started. This is important \
+        for cleanup scenarios where an operator is created and registered with reconcilers but \
+        never started due to initialization failures or other conditions. The stop() method \
+        properly cleans up thread pools even when the operator was never started.
+        """)
+class StopWithoutStartIT {
+
+  @Test
+  @Timeout(5)
+  void stopWithoutStartShouldNotThrowException() {
+    Operator operator = new Operator();
+    operator.register(new DummyReconciler());
+    // Call stop without start - should clean up thread pools without throwing exception
+    operator.stop();
+  }
+
+  @ControllerConfiguration
+  public static class DummyReconciler implements Reconciler<ConfigMap> {
+    @Override
+    public UpdateControl<ConfigMap> reconcile(ConfigMap resource, Context<ConfigMap> context) {
+      return UpdateControl.noUpdate();
+    }
+  }
+}