Tagged: Howard Schultz

2011 was a terrific year for the Seattle-based Starbucks coffee chain. The stock shot up 43% last year and recently hit record highs.

Financial commentator Greg Heberlein and KPLU's Dave Meyer look at the successful company on this week's Money Matters.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has been in a letter writing mood lately and that’s earned him lots of supporters to his political cause.

A few weeks ago, Schultz asked fellow CEOs to join him in freezing campaign contributions to politicians until they end what he calls their “hyper-partisan” behavior. Now he wants to talk to the rest of America.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wants some change in Washington D.C. and the best way to get it, he says, is by boycotting donations to political campaigns. In an open letter sent to Starbucks on Monday, he urged other company heads to withholding campaign contribution until President Obama and Congress solve the nation’s financial woes.  

Starbucks stocks have surged. That's thanks in part to the German financial company Deutsche Bank, which has resumed its coverage of the Seattle coffee giant and is saying investors should buy the stock. 

It's just one sign of confidence in the rebound of the company, as its executives outlined its latest growth strategies.

An annual love affair with coffee and other addictive treats

Attending a Starbucks annual meeting is always a bit like going to a rock concert. The 20th annual shin-dig was no exception.  

In 40 years it went from a tiny store near Pike Place Market to a global brand, recognized around the world.  Starbucks is celebrating its  anniversary with a new, simplified logo that doesn’t have the word "Starbucks" or "coffee" on it. 

On Tuesday, a band played and hundreds of employees gathered and cheered as the logo was unveiled at Starbucks headquarters in Seattle.  CEO Howard Schultz told the crowd there were many doubters in the beginning who didn’t think Starbucks could ever go beyond the West Coast. "But they were wrong," he said.

Melissa Allison writes in the Seattle Times that Schultz reminded employees that he is not the founder of Starbucks.

Howard Schultz announced his investment in the enormously popular consumer-discount site Groupon Thursday. At the same time, Groupon confirmed the Starbucks CEO's election to its board. 

TechFlash's John Cook reports Schultz' investment "is not connected to Starbucks":

...but having the leader of the world's leading specialty coffee retailer on the board certainly will add some interesting possibilities. Starbucks has been expanding its digital footprint aggressively in recent months, adding features such as mobile payments and free in-store wi-fi.

Starbucks has done it again. The coffee giant says its global revenues reached a record: $3 billion in the first quarter. Profits were up 44 percent compared to a year ago, thanks in part to the chain's growing popularity with coffee drinkers around the world.

Just two years ago, Starbucks was laying off staff and closing hundreds of US stores in its efforts to slash costs and restore the chain to profitability. Now it's reporting record earnings for the fourth quarter, with profits up 86% compared to a year ago.

Starbucks says its turnaround has ushered in a new phase of growth. Sales in the US and abroad increased by 8% during the quarter.

More people are going to its stores and they're spending more while there. CEO Howard Schultz told analysts in a conference call fiscal 2010 will be a defining year in Starbucks history. He says the company's future has never looked brighter.