« Financial Stocks Heart Bernanke | Main | Heyday »

Today, Lindsay goes on a Starbucks (SBUX) run.

If someone came up to me a few years ago with the business plan of selling overpriced coffee, I would have thought they were crazy: “Sir, I assure you that the American people are far too intelligent to fall for something as transparently phony as a triple latte!” Sadly, this is why I’m not a bazillionaire.

What else can be said about Starbucks? It’s a great American success story. Fifteen years ago, the stock went for about $21 a share. After five 2-for-1 splits, that works out to a split-adjusted price of 67 cents a share. SBUX’s 52-week high is $40.01 a share. That’s about a 60-fold gain.

But trouble could be brewing (BA!). The stock has fallen 25% twice in the past year. Howard Schultz, however, isn't giving in easily:

Schultz, who lamented a nearly 10 percent slide in the company's stock in the past year, asked shareholders not to lose confidence in the world's largest specialty coffee retailer.

"I'm here to tell you that I believe that there's never been a better time to be a Starbucks shareholder," Schultz said. "We are building Starbucks for the long term, and I would hope that after 15 years...you would give us the same trust that you have in the past."

Here's the long-term chart:

Posted by edelfenbein at March 22, 2007 6:58 AM