Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of one-cup-coffee king Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
So what: When Green Mountain started selling Starbucks
Now what: The big question, then, is whether the Verismo does in fact put the two companies in a head-to-head rivalry. Starbucks and Green Mountain are doing their best to convince us it doesn't: They emphasize that the Verismo is focused on espresso and specialty drinks as opposed to good old-fashioned coffee. My fellow Fool Jason Moser shares that view, seeing the Verismo as more of an attack on Nestle and its Nespresso machines.
At the same time, it's not much of a leap to see Starbucks entering the home-brew market with the Verismo and later augmenting it with a single-cup brewer that would more directly compete with Green Mountain's Keurig.
My take is that today's announcement doesn't train Starbucks' considerable firepower on Green Mountain. However, if I were considering an investment in Green Mountain, I certainly wouldn't discount the potential for its upward climb to get much steeper.
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