Latest news with #HowardSchultz
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Starbucks (SBUX) is Gaining Attention Among Food Dividend Investors
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is included among the 10 Best Food Stocks with Dividends. A close-up of a freshly roasted coffee bean, accompanied by a vintage aluminum scoop. The company seems to be reaching a key turning point with Brian Niccol stepping in as CEO, drawing comparisons to the company's 2008 revival under Howard Schultz. A major focus under his leadership is improving the mobile ordering system, which now accounts for roughly 30% of US sales but has negatively impacted service quality and the in-store experience. To tackle this issue, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) brought in Meredith Sandland— former Taco Bell executive and founder of Empower Delivery— to enhance order sequencing through machine learning. The move highlights Niccol's strategic focus on assembling strong, capable teams. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is a strong dividend payer, having paid regular dividends to shareholders for 60 consecutive quarters. During this time, the company's dividend has grown at an average annual rate of 20%, with increases sustained for 14 straight years. It offers a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.58%, as of July 27. While we acknowledge the potential of SBUX as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: READ NEXT: and Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
How leaders can be transparent about their belief systems without alienating anyone
Not long ago, leaders largely steered clear of the rough-and-tumble of politics. They inhabited a culture of impartiality, and for the most part stayed in their lane, rising now and then when called upon to offer observations about their specific sectors. Those times are over. We now live in an era of CEO activism, where shareholders, employees, and consumers expect corporate leaders to take a stand on issues far beyond their core industry—issues like immigration, DEI, or gender rights. Whereas before, hardly anyone outside of their industry could pick a chief executives out of a lineup, today's business leaders from Howard Schultz to Bill Gates to Elon Musk are household names, with the ability to influence public discourse—and policy—with a single tweet. For a business, there are distinct advantages to taking a political stand. At the same time, there is a fine line between brand enhancement and brand destruction. In this climate, how can a leader be transparent about her or his belief system without alienating anyone? Rewards and Risks First, it's hard, if not impossible, to reveal your belief system without alienating someone. It's almost a given: audiences and stakeholders these days may demand a political stand, but they can also be thin-skinned and easily offended when they don't agree with that stand. For the leader, the key is to avoid alienating significant portions of the constituencies and stakeholders responsible for the company's ultimate success: shareholders, employees, and consumers. When it comes to affiliating openly with a political figure or party, there can be advantages, such as privileged access and perhaps the ability to favorably influence policy direction. That said, there are also risks. Some of them are obvious: political fortunes are volatile, and public opinion is fickle, both of which can spell trouble for an aligned business. Political leaders have many priorities, and can shift their own positions on a dime, leaving a company that has publicly pledged allegiance with a case of whiplash. They are also prone to scandal, leaving aligned brands exposed to public outrage. Moreover, while there are certainly dangers in speaking out, silence can also have negative consequences in the public eye. It's important to realize that political parties, personalities, even movements come and go. Leaders are in this for the long haul; they should want their company to prosper for more than one election cycle. Recent events demonstrate the power of public opinion. The Trump administration's executive orders against diversity and inclusion initiatives split the business communities. Target rushed to align with the new directives, but Costco remained true to its own DEI stance. As a result, consumers punished Target and rewarded Costco. Staying true to the core Remember that politicians are paid to be politicians. Executives are not. Leaders are paid to ensure a company grows and prospers far into the future. That might mean rubbing elbows with those in power, or even contributing to campaigns, but it does not have to mean selling the soul of your identity, i.e. politicizing the brand or dragging a company's image (along with you) for the sake of a small short-term advantage. Reputations are hard to rebuild, and customers, once lost, are hard to reclaim. While a leader's personal beliefs may inform actions both private and professional, there are a few basic principles that can act as guardrails, providing the freedom to be transparent while preventing the leader's viewpoints and actions from creating conflicts and harming the company's fortunes. 1. Focus on values, not politics Nobody expects an executive and a workforce of thousands to agree on every issue. But a leader can set the tone by emphasizing core organizational values rather than personal political opinions. Companies are strongest when they articulate and consistently adhere to a clear set of values—regardless of shifting political winds. 2. Tie beliefs to business mission As a leader, you are a steward of your company's mission—not a political spokesperson. If your personal convictions align with your business's purpose, express them in a way that supports that mission. If they don't, reflect on whether your current role aligns with your values. A CEO thrives when personal belief and business purpose reinforce one another. 3. Build credibility through consistency While political trends are fickle, brand trust is built over time. Consumers reward companies that consistently uphold their stated commitments—whether to sustainability, product quality, or inclusion. Consistency is credibility. 4. Respect dissent, invite dialogue Foster a culture where respectful disagreement is welcome. Employees should feel safe expressing differing opinions without fear of retaliation. Provide spaces—forums, listening sessions, anonymous feedback tools—for difficult conversations to happen constructively. Diversity of thought is a strength, not a liability. 5. Be strategic If you choose to speak out, do so with intention. Consult your communications team, evaluate stakeholder impact, and conduct a risk-benefit analysis. As Harvard Business Review contributors Aaron Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel advise: 'Select issues carefully, reflect on the best times and approaches to get involved, consider the potential for backlash, and measure results.' Who's doing it right? A number of well-known CEOs have made a point of voicing their beliefs, and have not suffered for it. On the contrary, they have developed a leadership style that manages to be both values-informed and advantageous from a business standpoint. 1. Satya Nadella (Microsoft). Nadella openly discusses empathy and his Hindu faith, speaking often of caring for his son with special needs. He is upfront about his personal values of humility and purpose, but does not impose these upon the firm directly, emphasizing instead organizational culture and customer impact. Under his watch, Microsoft has quadrupled its market capitalization. 2. Dan Schulman (former CEO, PayPal). Schulman has been vocal in support of social justice and economic inclusion, which he links to his personal Jewish ethical values. PayPal pulled out of North Carolina to protest anti-LGBTQ legislation, a move that was criticized by the right but rewarded by stakeholders, with shareholder returns remaining strong. 3. Rose Marcario (former CEO, Patagonia). Markario's Buddhist beliefs and environmental ethics were strongly aligned with Patagonia's corporate mission. So when the company sued the Trump administration over its intention to dismantle and sell off national monuments, it mobilized the company's core outdoor audience and strengthened the brand, with increases in both consumer loyalty and profits. 4. Ken Frazier (former CEO, Merck). In 2017, Frazier resigned from President Trump's American Manufacturing Council following the administration's tepid response to the white supremacist marches and ensuing violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. Frazier's action was seen as deeply principled, and Merck's shareholder value was not damaged. Other CEOs (UnderArmour, Intel, et al) followed suit, in part because Frazier's action created a public demand for moral leadership. Finding balance In the end, leaders must balance their own need to reveal their personal beliefs with the greater good of the organization. This is both an internal and external journey that requires a high degree of reflection as well as an appreciation for the complexity of the company and its role in both the market and society. It's an extremely challenging time to be a leader, but also an exciting one.
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
The Chinese coffee chain that's muscling In on Starbucks's turf
Luckin Coffee could have opened its first stores anywhere in America. China's biggest coffee chain chose a New York City spot less than 200 feet from a Starbucks. From there, Luckin is serving up coffee drinks from a flat white to a raspberry cold brew, really fast, ordered on its mobile app whose coupons may be as addictive as caffeine. Armed with iced coconut lattes, it has the makings of a deliciously audacious corporate rivalry. Luckin has just two U.S. stores, which opened June 30 in Manhattan, compared with Starbucks's 17,000 U.S. locations. Then again, in China, Luckin didn't exist when Starbucks arrived and spread coffee culture—and it overtook Starbucks in six years. 'This is just the beginning," Luckin said on Instagram. 'NYC, we're here." That Luckin has appeared in New York is pretty amazing. The company was left for dead in 2020 after an accounting scandal during which it faked more than $300 million in sales. That was the last time it made news in the U.S. Now, it's on Starbucks's home turf just as the American coffee giant is trying to turn around under new leadership after five consecutive quarters of declining same-store sales. Founded by Chinese tech entrepreneurs, Luckin is a master of the gamification that is common among Asian retailers. Luckin customers must order on its app, where they are showered with coupons, including $1.99 drinks for first-timers in New York. The app gives a pickup time and texts when the drink is ready (three-minute and five-minute waits on two recent morning orders). Customers pick up their drinks at the counter without having to interact with another person. 'This is just the beginning,' Luckin said on Instagram to mark the opening of its stores, including this one in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. Mobile app orders have been maddening for Starbucks leadership. Customers coming in to pick up their mobile orders were overwhelming its cafes ('a mosh pit," as Starbucks founder Howard Schultz complained) and spoiled the leisurely, premium vibe Starbucks thrives on. Still, they fueled much of the chain's business. When new Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol joined the company almost a year ago, he was frank: Mobile orders needed a makeover. Niccol said that he would better separate mobile pickup queues from cafe dwellers, and place some limits on how much people could doctor their drinks. More than 30% of Starbucks pickup orders are placed digitally. Trainer Unsworth, a 23-year-old tech salesman, tried Luckin in New York. He returned the next day for an iced latte. The latte had more of a milky taste than a coffee taste, but he didn't mind. He plans to come back as long as the app keeps feeding him coupons. 'Coffee is getting a little too expensive right now," said Unsworth, who usually pays about $6 for his coffee elsewhere. His Luckin iced latte was closer to $2. Luckin didn't respond to requests seeking comment. Starbucks declined to comment. Luckin likely wouldn't even exist if not for Starbucks. The American chain spread the idea of sipping lattes and lounging in cafes to China when it opened its first store in Beijing in 1999, bringing coffee culture to the traditionally tea-drinking country. About two decades later, in 2017, entrepreneurs from ride-hailing platform UCAR, Jenny Qian and Charles Lu, founded Luckin, part of a Chinese tech funding boom that propelled companies like TikTok-parent ByteDance and Jack Ma's Ant Group. Luckin's Chinese name, Ruixing, generally translates to 'auspicious luck." From the start, Luckin was a tech native. It built its strategy around a mobile app with the idea of having coffee available at any moment, through grab-and-go stores and speedy delivery. Stores were smaller than Starbucks's locations and they offered steep discounts. Profitability was less a concern than grabbing market share. It opened thousands of shops across China at a blinding pace—many just feet away from a Starbucks—and went public in less than two years. 'The market won't only have Starbucks. Every country has their own coffee brand," Qian told Chinese state media in 2018. Its meteoric rise came crashing down when the accounting scandal forced it to delist from the Nasdaq Stock Market in 2020 and pay a $180 million settlement with U.S. regulators. Luckin ousted Lu and Qian, its then chairman and chief executive, and later filed for bankruptcy. Jinyi Guo, an executive in charge of product and supply chain, took over as CEO. Beijing-based private-equity firm Centurium Capital, Luckin's largest shareholder and one of its earliest financial backers, poured money into the company to clean up the mess. 'We are trying to redeem ourselves because we want to repair the reputation of Chinese companies," Guo told The Wall Street Journal in a 2022 interview. By 2023, Luckin overtook Starbucks as China's biggest coffee chain by sales. That year, Luckin had about 16,200 stores in China—more than double Starbucks's 6,800 locations in the country. Today, Luckin has more than 24,000 stores across mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Many, especially in smaller cities, are just the size of kiosks. Luckin this year secured the exclusive rights to coconuts from a group of islands in Indonesia to use in its signature coconut latte. 'While cultivating coffee consumption habits, we aim to allow more customers to conveniently enjoy high-quality coffee experiences at very competitive prices, striving to make high-quality coffee become a part of everyone's daily life," Guo said on an earnings call in February. Its New York menu includes an iced coconut latte, pineapple cold brew, iced matcha latte, iced velvet latte and Pink Sunrise, made with coconut milk, mango juice and strawberry sweet cold foam. Like Starbucks, Luckin lets customers customize their drinks, but has somewhat fewer options. The Luckin app offers six types of milk for an iced latte, for example, and Starbucks has 11. Luckin has plotted its U.S. entry since at least last year, when it told investors that it was evaluating opportunities to expand to America. The company said it knew the U.S. would be a tough market to crack. 'Given the maturity, saturation and the competitiveness of the U.S. coffee market, we are intending to approach our expansion strategies there with careful consideration," Luckin's Guo said in an October 2024 investor call. Luckin recently hired or was seeking to fill at least a dozen corporate roles in Secaucus, N.J., and the broader New York metropolitan area, according to LinkedIn profiles, posts and job listings. China, Starbucks's second largest market, has become a headache for the company. Its market share fell to 14% in 2024, from more than 40% in 2017, as competition from Luckin and other local rivals grew, according to Bernstein Research. Starbucks is evaluating alternatives for its business, such as bringing on a local partner to help run it. Executives have said they remain committed to China and efforts to turn around the operation are starting to work. Adding to the competition, ousted Luckin co-founders Lu and Qian started a new coffee chain, Cotti Coffee, in 2022 and it now has more stores in China than Starbucks, according to Bernstein. Cotti has also entered the U.S., including a few stores in New York it opened weeks before Luckin. In China, Starbucks last month cut prices for more than 20 beverages, with the average decrease of a grande drink declining by 70 cents. The cuts are working, Starbucks said. New drink styles, like sugar-free options, are also broadening Starbucks's customer base and increasing sales, particularly in the afternoons and evenings. 'We try not to get distracted by things we can't control, like who's entering the market," said Brady Brewer, CEO of Starbucks International, in a prior interview. 'If we do our best to deliver coffee, our coffeehouse environment and great customer service, we usually win." For fiscal year 2024, Starbucks logged $36.2 billion in revenue, while Luckin reported $4.7 billion. Starbucks has a market value of about $106 billion; Luckin's is around $10 billion. In the U.S., Starbucks is pushing to return to being a place where people will pay premium prices for a cafe experience. Starbucks has struggled with speed, particularly as an increasing number of consumers have customized their drinks with syrups, foams and other additions. Niccol said earlier this year that about half of in-store orders take longer than four minutes. Technology rolling out in the U.S. is helping it shave an average of two minutes off wait times for in-store orders, helping it reach service time goals of four minutes for its cafe and drive-through business. On a recent Thursday morning in New York, Hailey Schindler and Tracy Fernandez tried Luckin for the first time. Schindler, 26, got a 'Pink Sunrise," a mango, coconut and strawberry drink. Fernandez, 27, ordered a blood-orange cold brew. The two, who work together at a creative agency across the street from Luckin, typically go out for coffee at Starbucks or Dunkin' a few times a week. Both said they would go back to Luckin. 'They have a lot of really neat flavors I've never had," Schindler said. A sign advertising $1.99 coffee lured Danny Goldberg, a 31-year-old motivational speaker, into the store the week after it opened. He downloaded Luckin's app and ordered a coconut cold brew. He liked the quick, cashierless system. Enticed by more coupons in the app, Goldberg returned the next day with his wife, 8-month-old baby and golden retriever to get another coconut cold brew, also for around $2. Since then, he has made six more visits and told his friends about Luckin. Bernstein analysts noted the number of repeat customers they found at the two New York pilot stores, and Luckin's heavy discounting. They estimate Luckin will be able to achieve profitability in the U.S. at the store level in the next 12 to 18 months if sales volumes increase and discounts moderate. The store number of its second U.S. location—written on the corner of the counter—wasn't 2. It was 00002. That, the analysts said, is a hint that Luckin has ambitions to become bigger in the U.S. Write to Hannah Miao at and Heather Haddon at
Forbes
13-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Key Leadership Decision CEOs Don't Realize They're Making Daily
Self-leadership can't be overlooked. At Starbucks' recent Leadership Experience event in Las Vegas, current CEO Brian Niccol and founder Howard Schultz sat down before 14,000 company leaders to discuss the company's vision and principles. One of the most compelling ideas came from Schultz, who revisited a profound yet straightforward leadership principle: the "Two Chairs" concept. According to Schultz, every decision should serve both the customer and the partner, and if it fails to exceed expectations for either, it won't be executed. The magic of this principle lies in its simplicity. Both chairs matter, and both feed and support each other. And the same holds in leadership more broadly: you can't lead others effectively if you're not consistently tending to the twin pillars of leadership performance and well-being. While Schultz framed the Two Chairs concept for business decisions, it offers an even deeper insight when turned inward. It's not just a tool for external leadership. It's a framework for self-leadership. The Two Chairs Every CEO Balances In Leadership Every major leadership decision—from hiring and scaling to setting vision and execution—appears outward-facing. However, there's an equally important side of the equation that's often overlooked: self-leadership. Every high-level leader is sitting between two invisible chairs. One chair represents the relentless pressure to deliver through hitting growth targets, driving innovation, and meeting stakeholder expectations. The other symbolizes personal capacity, encompassing mental clarity, emotional steadiness, and overall well-being—all of which are essential to sustain that very performance. Most CEOs understandably default to the performance chair. It's where urgency lives. It's externally rewarded and immediately validated. But over-indexing on that chair comes at a cost. Neglecting the second chair—your capacity—may not create issues today, but over time, it can undermine everything. That internal chair supports your mental sharpness, creative thinking, executive presence, and the quality of your decision-making. When it weakens, so does your leadership. What Happens In Leadership When You Ignore The Second Chair The drift into imbalance isn't dramatic. It's subtle, so subtle that it often goes unnoticed. You can still meet your quarterly targets and attend meetings, appearing in control. But quietly, you begin drawing from a well that isn't being replenished. Leaders can justify it with phrases like "Just this quarter," "Just this deadline," or "I'll slow down after the launch." But burnout rarely hits like a crash. It instead accumulates like dust. The consequences appear as missed cues, slower decisions, emotional volatility, physical challenges, and diminished resilience under stress. By the time most CEOs notice the erosion, it's already showing up in their decisions, relationships, and performance. Operating from just one chair not only limits your capacity, but it also creates risk. Not just for you, but for your company and team as well, because when the leader's center collapses, everything around them begins to feel the impact. Leadership From The Center Leading from the center doesn't mean living a perfectly balanced life, as that's not realistic in high-stakes leadership. But it does mean designing your leadership to be durable. Just as the performance chair demands planning, metrics, and strategy, the capacity chair demands infrastructure. It requires protecting the assets that fuel your ability to perform, such as: Just as a business can't scale what it can't sustain, a leader can't deliver beyond the limits of their well-being. The Two Chairs In Leadership Are Here To Stay Just as the sun rises and falls, the two chairs in leadership will always remain. The nature of being a CEO inevitably creates a pull between business KPIs and personal well-being. But leadership at the highest level isn't about choosing one and ignoring the other. It's about building the awareness and infrastructure to lead from the space between. That means protecting your mental bandwidth, tending to your emotional world, and developing the internal resilience to carry the weight of your external responsibilities, without burning out beneath them.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Faces Doubts Nine Months Into Turnaround
Starbucks (SBUX, Financials) CEO Brian Niccol entered with high expectations; nine months in, the results remain lukewarm. The former Chipotle and Taco Bell chief promised a reset simplified menus, more staff, and a cozier cafe experience but investors are still waiting for a clear financial roadmap. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Sign with MSFT. Shares jumped 21% the day Niccol was named CEO in August 2024; since then, they've stalled. Same-store sales fell 1% last quarter the fifth straight decline and foot traffic has dipped every month this year compared to 2024, according to data reviewed by Reuters. Niccol says results will follow; he's accelerating staffing increases to all 10,000-plus company-owned U.S. stores this summer. But analysts are cautious; no earnings targets have been offered, and the stock trades at a forward P/E of 33 higher than McDonald's (MCD, Financials) or Yum Brands (YUM, Financials). TD Cowen downgraded the stock to Hold in May; AdvisorShares' Dan Ahrens said the fund is steering clear until the turnaround shows results. Bernstein estimates staffing plans could cost up to $2 billion over two years a hefty bet on retention and service speed. Critics say some changes cut against Starbucks' brand; unionized workers have protested new dress codes and policies requiring non-customers to pay for restrooms. Starbucks says those updates came after employee and customer input. Niccol still has backing from former CEO Howard Schultz; at a June event in Las Vegas, Schultz praised his successor and said he's never been more optimistic. The company has promised more clarity at an investor day in 2026; until then, Wall Street will be watching for signs that Niccol's third act can match his earlier hits. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
