Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat: Can I have your recommendation on Starbucks? It’s down a bit after the recent controversy. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Starbucks Corp., $58.26, symbol SBUX on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $82.7 billion; www.starbucks.com), is a leading seller and roaster of specialty coffee. As of December 31, 2017, Starbucks had 14,999 company-operated stores and 13,040 licensed outlets in 77 countries. That’s a total of 28,039. Stores in the Americas supply 70% of its sales, followed by China and the Asia-Pacific region (14%), and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (5%). The company gets a further 9% of its sales by selling coffee and other beverages through supermarkets and 2% from online sales and other activities. Starbuck’s overall sales jumped 50.3%, from $14.9 billion in 2013 to $22.4 billion in 2017 (fiscal years end September 30). The rise came mainly from the opening of 7,570 new stores over those five years. They increased the number of outlets by 38%. Earnings rose 74.9%, from $1.7 billion in 2013 to $3.0 billion in 2017. The company is an aggressive buyer of its own shares…