Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, specialty coffee giant Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) has received a distressing two-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Starbucks' business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Starbucks facts
|
Headquarters (Founded) |
Seattle (1971) |
|
Market Cap |
$30.3 billion |
|
Industry |
Restaurants |
|
Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$11.2 billion |
|
Management |
Founder/Chairman/CEO Howard Schultz CFO Troy Alstead |
|
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) |
18.6% |
|
Cash/Debt |
$1.93 billion / $549.4 million |
|
Dividend Yield |
1.3% |
|
Competitors |
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) Tim Hortons (NYSE: THI) |
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 22% of the 7,316 members who have rated Starbucks believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include SnowdriftFool2 and SnowleopardNW.
A few months ago, SnowdriftFool2 succinctly summed up the Starbucks bear case:
Domestic competition getting aggressive. Foreign propsects good but still ill-defined and lots of choppy waters. Current valuation seems too rich.
In fact, Starbucks currently sports a particularly lofty P/E of 28. That represents a premium to other large restaurant stocks like McDonald's (18), Tim Hortons (13), and Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) (22).
CAPS member SnowleopardNW looks at Starbucks from a top-down perspective:
[T]he stimulus is sunsetting, states are being forced to balance their budgets, largely through cuts, and the GOP may soon be forcing a government shutdown. These are contractionary, and will pull the U.S. economy back into a recession. Starbucks is a non-essential, luxury product that consumers will quickly cut from their purchases.
What do you think about Starbucks, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to protect your portfolio from any undue risk. Staying away from dangerous stocks is crucial to securing your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to flag them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!
