Nasdaq: SBUX Archive
Yum! Brands and What the Yankees and China Have in Common
by Jason Jenkins, Investment U Research
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Remember the Yankees in the late 1990s? The Evil Empire, as I call them, won three World Series (four if you count 2000). And the team has had so much success over the past decade or so, that many fans feel championships are a birthright.
Now that the team goes to the playoffs every year, many Yankee fans just moan and complain when they don’t win the Series. Meanwhile, the rest of Major League Baseball just looks on and asks, “What is wrong with you people?”
In my eyes, the Yankees are just like the current state of the Chinese economy…
In the third quarter, China reported an economic growth rate of 7.6%. Look around, that isn’t too bad. However, in 2011 and 2010 it posted 9.2% and 10.4% growth, respectively.
Because of the declining growth rate in China, Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), along with many other companies with strong ties to China, saw some pressure. But Yum! is no Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) or Dunkin’ Brands (Nasdaq: DNKN), as last quarter’s numbers show.
Last November, I first wrote about Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut, among others. At that time it won approval by China’s Ministry of Commerce to buy Mongolian “hot pot” seller Little Sheep Group Ltd.
Little Sheep Group Ltd. is the Chinese operator or franchisor of 480 Little Sheep hot pot restaurants. The deal would extend Yum!’s lead as China’s biggest restaurant operator.
Updating Yum!’s Forecast From a Year Ago…
To continue reading, please click here...AT&T vs. Verizon: The War for Your Mobile Data Usage [Video]
by Steve McDonald, Investment U Research
Monday, July 30, 2012
In focus this week: getting juiced takes on a whole new meaning, AT&T and Verizon’s war for mobile data, and the SITFA.
According to Barron’s, what do Bill Clinton, a million hedge fund managers and a lot of housewives have in common?
Juice! Spinach slurpees, kale cocktails, super fruit smoothies!
A Barron’s article said the liquid lunch is taking on a whole new feel in our well-heeled suburbs and trendy cities. Martinis are out, brackish-looking goo is in!
A 17-ounce bottle of cucumber, celery, parsley, kale, dandelion, Swiss chard, lemon and ginger juice will set you back $13.
It’s a $5-billion industry and growing like crazy!
Big players are jumping into it in a big way. Campbell Soup, Coke, Pepsi and Whole Foods are buying small juicers, and a Whole Foods spokesman said this segment is growing faster in traditional stores than in others.
Sales have grown 58% since 2004. Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) is in on the game with Evolution Fresh that has an 11-foot wall with spigots that dispenses all kinds of juices.
To continue reading, please click here...The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Practical Advice From the Best Wealth-Creator I Know
by Alexander Green, Investment U Chief Investment Strategist
Monday, July 9, 2012: Issue #1810
It’s a truism in our capitalist society: You don’t get rich working for someone else. You get rich working for yourself.
Yet the overwhelming majority of Americans don’t understand how to start their own business. They feel like they don’t have a good enough idea or enough capital to make a go of it. To top it off, most are understandably scared to leave their current job or risk their savings on a new enterprise. Still… they understand that they will never achieve financial independence – or significantly upgrade their lifestyle – without becoming an entrepreneur of some sort.
If this sounds familiar, let me make a recommendation. Pick up a copy of The Reluctant Entrepreneur by my friend and colleague Michael Masterson.
And buy a highlighter, too. You’re going to need it.
Michael Masterson is the real deal, an astonishingly successful wealth creator who has launched dozens of businesses in many different industries. He retired more than 20 years ago but, fortunately for the rest of us, found it unspeakably boring. Today he devotes his business life to instructing and mentoring others.
His new book is something special. It’s a call to action – and a step-by-step plan – to embrace your fears and start your own business without a lot of investment capital and with as little risk as humanly possible.
Of course, Masterson has written many business bestsellers, but this book is different. Here he focuses only on the first two stages of business growth – from zero to $1 million and from $1 million to $10 million. However, he begins with an even earlier stage of entrepreneurship – the point where you may be now: a “would-be” business owner. As the chapters unfold, he describes, in detail, how to develop a good, workable idea for a business and how to carefully put that plan into action.
The advice here is anything but theoretical. Using examples from his own business career – and from those he’s mentored – he shows you exactly how to proceed, how to overcome your fears, how to achieve business success without leaving your current career (at least at the outset) and without risking a lot of money. I personally know dozens of individuals who have seen their lives – and their fortunes – transformed by guidance and advice from Michael Masterson.
To continue reading, please click here...Invest in the “Starbucks of China”
by Carl Delfeld, Investment U Senior Analyst
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Imagine my surprise when I arrived in Tokyo decades ago as an eager student and found more coffee shops per block than bars in Milwaukee.
I had thought that Japan, like most of Asia, was a land of tea drinkers. It turns out that with rising incomes and western influence, Japanese people love coffee (with lots of sugar and milk) alongside their green tea.
Right now, Japan’s per capita coffee consumption is 75 percent of America and still trending upwards.
As you can see from the chart below, this is pretty much the pattern South Korea followed.
China will also follow this trend. How can we get a piece of the action?
To put China’s coffee upside potential in perspective, I drink more coffee per day than the average Chinese drinks in a year right now! That’s three cups of coffee complements of my neighborhood Starbucks (shout out to Katie and Matt).
Which brings me to two very different companies hoping to cash in on coffee growth in the Middle Kingdom.
To continue reading, please click here...The Brewing Single-Cup Coffee War
by Tony D'Altorio, Investment U Research
Monday, April 25, 2011
I recently discussed coffee’s price hike up about 90% over the past year – to 34-year highs!
This dramatic increase sent coffee shops like Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) for a loop.
The latter raised its packaged coffee prices by 12 percent, along with hiking cups of coffee too. But the entire industry knows all too well that it can’t fall back on that coping mechanism for forever.
Eventually, java lovers will simply say, “Enough!”
Knowing that, Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts have another plan that promises higher profit margins than its stores offer. Both are moving into the home, single-cup coffee market. And they intend to stay there for the long haul…
The Coffee Industry’s Single-Cup Future
Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks are racing to roll out premium coffee products for single-cup coffee machines.
Dunkin’ – which claims to be the biggest U.S. coffee merchant, selling over 1 billion cups per year – believes customers crave it at home just as much as on their morning commutes.
To continue reading, please click here...India’s Developing Fast Food Nation
by Tony D'Altorio, Investment U Research
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
PricewaterhouseCoopers recently highlighted something very important…
China and India’s economies are growing rapidly. By 2050, PwC expects China to be the world’s largest economy and India the third, while the U.S. takes second place.
But India is projected to emerge as the fastest growing economy over this time frame. Its share of global GDP should rise from 2% to 13%.
That’s because it has a younger demographic and lower economic base than China.
The former factor especially enhances India’s growth potential. And some forward-thinking companies are already capitalizing on the situation.
Fast-food businesses have already flocked to China. But now they’re beginning to realize similar potential in its nearby neighbor…
India Develops a Taste for Fast Food
Despite a slow start, India is beginning to develop a taste for western-style fast food.
To continue reading, please click here...Starbucks: A Beacon of Consumer Sentiment
by Steve McDonald, Investment U Research
Friday, March 11, 2011
Starbucks: A Beacon of Consumer Sentiment
Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) will soon boast a 30% share of its market – strong enough to support annual earnings growth in the 15% to 20% area and numbers that would make it the fastest-growing large-cap restaurant. That’s according to Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) analyst, John Glass.
That’s quite a turnaround for a company that really took it on the chin in 2008 and 2009, as recession-weary, cash-strapped consumers drifted away from $4 lattes and specialty drinks.
The growth numbers, promised by CEO Howard Schultz, seem to indicate that the recovery is solidly in place and that consumers are returning to their pre-crash spending habits. Now $4 or $5 for a coffee might not seem reasonable to most of us, but it’s a sign that the buyers are back.
Watch Starbucks, as it’s a good gauge of consumer sentiment.
The “Slap in the Face” Award
This week, it goes to Ford’s (NYSE: F) Alan Mulally and Bill Ford, Jr.
The dynamic duo recently received stock bonuses of $33 and $25 million, respectively. That’s after taxes and in addition to Mulally’s $1.4 million salary.
To continue reading, please click here...These Two Companies are Emerging from the Recession Stronger Than Ever…
by Alexander Moschina, Investment U Research
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
It’s no surprise that investors have become more bullish on two companies recently. Take a look at their recent highlights…
Let’s take at closer look at them both, starting with the strongest gainer – a Seattle giant worth more than $22 billion…
Starbucks Puts Recession in the Rear-View Mirror and Returns to Profitability
In March, Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) announced it would have its first profitable year since the recession started in 2007.
According to CEO Howard Schultz, “We made very tough decisions… but together were able to take nearly $600 million of costs out of the company while building new muscle in our operations.”
Part of that “muscle” included a resurgence of sales and the success of emerging brands like Starbucks VIA Ready Brew.
And just eight months later, the world’s largest chain of coffeehouses has recovered superbly. During its most recent quarter, net revenue grew over 17% to $2.8 billion – its most profitable quarter to date.
It’s quite a turnaround from 2008 when Starbucks shut down 600 of its locations to save costs. Today, it’s making plans to build more than 1,000 stores in China, where coffee-buying is set to triple over the next 10 years according to Boston Consulting Group Inc.
To continue reading, please click here...Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX): Don’t Sip On This Stock Just Yet
by Jeannette Di Louie, Investment U Research
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX): Don’t Sip On This Stock Just Yet
Stock of the Day by Jeannette Di Louie, Investment U Research
Last week, Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX) debuted “Via Ready Brew” – its new instant coffee.
It’s a product that CEO Howard Schultz calls “perhaps the biggest opportunity” in the company’s history.
Hmm… perhaps Mr. Schultz is being slightly over-the-top.
Aside from a ConsumerReports.org report, which labels the coffee, “good, not great,” that rather so-so review is beside the point. You see, Starbucks’ success has less to do with delicious products (although its Tazo Iced Green Tea is quite tasty), and more to do with ambiance.
Here’s what I mean…
A Cool Vibe… But it’s the Bottom Line That Counts
To continue reading, please click here...
