Starbucks Stirs Up Excitement at 40

Starbucks' (Nasdaq: SBUX) annual meeting has come and gone, stirring up caffeinated excitement and headlines in equal measure. Grocery plans! Digital initiatives! Possible acquisitions! But for all the hubbub, these little ideas just don't seem to add up to one big vision.

The coffee giant said its consumer packaged-goods business, which includes grocery-store offerings and Via, will soon mirror the success it has achieved in its cafes. Furthermore, Starbucks' recent arrangement with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR) to provide K-Cups for the Keurig single-serve brewer is expected to rack up $1 billion in sales within some unspecified period of time.

Shareholders can't exactly underestimate such predictions. Starbucks' retail store business represents the lion's share of its operations, generating nearly three-quarters of its $10.7 billion in annual revenue. If packaged goods can capture even a fraction of that, the company could enjoy huge growth opportunities. On the other hand, major growth in the consumer packaged goods business could eat into Starbucks' stores' sales, rather than adding to them. In addition, these moves could tarnish the brand, further blurring meaningful differentiation from coffee rivals jumbled on grocery shelves.

Starbucks also announced digital initiatives, including free online access to content from The Economist, Marvel Comics, and ESPN for patrons in 7,000 stores.

In another interesting meeting element, 8.1% of shareholders supported a shareholder proposal urging Starbucks to provide a comprehensive recycling initiative, versus 11% support for a similar proposal last year.

Investors seem to have rekindled their affection for Starbucks recently, given the major buzz surrounding the Green Mountain deal, and the rumors that it might acquire rival Peet's (Nasdaq: PEET). Still, as Starbucks' celebrates four decades in operation, the company may have permanently closed the door on its high-growth days of yore. Are any of the initiatives named above really big ideas, or just plain old ideas? At forty, Starbucks may finally have become a mature company, bound to run out of steam.

Leave a comment in the box below about whether the annual meeting coverage altered your opinion on Starbucks' growth prospects. Also, consider adding Starbucks to your watchlist to keep up with the coffee giant's daily developments.