Starbucks (SBUX -0.16%) is the world's largest coffee company. It had more than 38,000 stores open across the globe in mid-2024. It's the world's premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee.

The company sells a staggering 90 million cups of coffee and tea around the world each day. It rang up a record $36 billion in sales in its 2023 fiscal year (up 12% from fiscal 2022) and more than $4 billion in profit (25% higher). Starbucks pours out a venti-sized portion of its profit to shareholders via dividend payments each year.

As a publicly traded company, anyone can sip on Starbucks dividends and share its profits. Here's a closer look at who owns the company, its board of directors, and how you can invest money in this coffee stock.

Who owns Starbucks?

Starbucks has been a publicly traded company owned by its shareholders since it completed its initial public offering (IPO) in 1992. Thousands of individuals and institutional investors own Starbucks stock.

Shareholder

An individual or entity that owns a portion of a company's stock, entitling them to a share of its profits and assets.

Institutional investors own most of Starbucks's stock (76% of its outstanding shares in mid-2024). Nine of its top 10 shareholders are institutional investors.

Largest shareholders

Who are the largest shareholders?

Starbucks has many investors, including several notable institutions. However, one individual investor stands out: Howard Schultz. The company's former CEO ranked as its fifth-largest shareholder in mid-2024, with 21.8 million shares (1.9% of its outstanding shares) worth more than $2 billion. He bought the company from its founders in the early 1980s and took it public in 1992. He has remained a leading investor in the company over the years. Schultz stepped down as the CEO and as a board member in 2023 and is now the company's chairman emeritus.

While Schultz is Starbucks' most notable shareholder, institutional investors own most of the company's shares. Starbucks' five largest institutional investors as of mid-2024 were:

  1. The Vanguard Group: The leading client-owned asset manager held about 107.9 million shares of Starbucks (9.5% of its shares outstanding) worth almost $9.9 billion. Vanguard owned most of those shares in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) it manages for clients, including Vanguard Total Stock Market Fund (NASDAQMUTFUND:VTSA.X)(VTI -0.0%) and Vanguard 500 Index Fund (NASDAQMUTFUND:VFIA.X) (VOO 0.11%), which were the two largest mutual fund holders of Starbucks stock.
  2. BlackRock (BLK -0.87%): The publicly traded asset manager held 51.4 million shares of Starbucks (4.5%) worth almost $4.7 billion. The largest BlackRock-managed fund holding shares was iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV 0.15%), with 11.6 million shares (1%) worth more than $1 billion.
  3. State Street (STT 0.39%): The publicly traded financial services and bank holding company held 45.8 million shares (4.1%) worth almost $4.2 billion. Its top fund holding Starbucks stock was the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY 0.12%), which had 13.3 million shares (1.2%) worth almost $1.2 billion.
  4. Goode Capital Management: The private investment management firm owned 23.4 million shares (2.1%) worth more than $2.1 billion.
  5. Invesco (IVZ -0.73%): The publicly traded investment management company held 21.3 million shares (1.9%) worth almost $1.9 billion, all of which were in the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ 0.21%).

Board of directors

Who is on the board of directors for Starbucks?

Starbucks' board of directors helps steward the company on behalf of its shareholders and other stakeholders. It has a diverse board that brings significant leadership and related experience to the company.

Board of Directors

A group of elected individuals responsible for overseeing the activities of a company and representing shareholders.

As of mid-2024, the 10-member board consisted of:

  • Ritch Allison has been on the board since 2019. He's the former CEO of Domino's Pizza (DPZ -1.61%). Allison also served as the former president of Domino's international division, where he led its expansion. He owned 27,440 shares in early 2024.
  • Andrew Campion has been on the board since 2019. Campion is the managing director of strategic business ventures for Nike (NKE -0.73%), although he announced plans to retire from the sporting goods company in April 2024. He also previously served as Nike's chief operating officer (COO) and CFO. Campion owned 17,543 shares in early 2024.
  • Beth Ford joined the board in 2023. She's the president and CEO of Land O'Lakes, a farmer-owned food production and agribusiness cooperative. In early 2024, she owned 3,202 shares.
  • Mellody Hobson joined the board in 2005 and has served as chair since 2021. She was the vice chair for nearly three years before becoming the chair. Hobson is also the co-CEO, president, and director of the investment management firm Ariel Investments. In early 2024, she owned 722,928 shares.
  • Jorgen Vig Knudstorp joined the board in 2017. He serves as special partner to Kirkbi, which owns the Lego brand. He previously served as the CEO and executive chairman of Lego. He owned 83,232 shares in early 2024.
  • Neal Mohan joined the board in January 2024. He's the CEO of YouTube. Before that, he held various roles at Alphabet (GOOG -0.11%)(GOOGL -0.08%). He didn't own any Starbucks stock in early 2024.
  • Laxman Narasimhan joined Starbucks in October 2022 as its CEO-elect. He assumed the CEO role and became a board member in March 2023 when Howard Schultz retired. Before joining Starbucks, Narasimhan was the CEO of British multinational consumer health, hygiene, and nutrition company Reckitt Benckiser (RBGL.Y -0.18%). Narasimhan also held various roles at PepsiCo (PEP -0.36%), including Chief commercial officer. He owned 39,678 shares in early 2024.
  • Daniel Servitje joined the board in January 2024. He has been the CEO of Grupo Bimbo (a global leader in the banking industry and a leading snacks company) since 1997. He didn't own any shares of Starbucks in early 2024.
  • Mike Sievert joined the board in January 2024. He has been the CEO, president, and director of T-Mobile (TMUS -0.74%) since 2020. He didn't own any shares of Starbucks in early 2024.
  • Wei Zhang joined the board in 2023. She's the former senior advisor and president of Alibaba Group (BABA 0.52%). In early 2024, she held 1,810 shares.

The Starbucks board lost a member in mid-2024 when Microsoft (MSFT 0.27%) CEO Satya Nadella resigned from the position he had held since 2017. The company didn't replace him on the board, opting to shrink its size from 11 to 10 members.

It's also worth noting that while former CEO Howard Schultz stepped down from the board in 2023, he became chairman emeritus and remains one of the company's largest shareholders.

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How to invest

How to invest in Starbucks

Because Starbucks is a publicly traded company, anyone with a brokerage account can invest in its stock. If you don't have a brokerage account, they're easy to open. Here's a list of the top-rated brokerage and stock trading accounts. Make sure you research the brokers to find the best one for you.

Opening and funding a brokerage account is the first step to investing in stocks. Additional steps you'll need to take include:

  • Figure out your budget: You'll want to decide how much you want to invest in Starbucks. The Motley Fool investing philosophy recommends building a diversified portfolio with at least 25 stocks. So, if you have $10,000 you want to invest, you'd allocate about $400 equally across 25 stocks, including Starbucks. However, you can start small, initially aiming to own at least 10 stocks.
  • Do your research: It's imperative to thoroughly research a company before you buy shares. You should check out its competitors, learn about its balance sheet, and investigate its profitability. You need to ensure any investment aligns with your risk tolerance, values, and return objectives.
  • Fill out your order page: When you're ready to buy shares, you'll open the order page at your brokerage account and fill out all the relevant information, including:

You should double-check your order page before submitting your trade. When you're ready, click submit to become a Starbucks shareholder.

FAQ

Who owns Starbucks: FAQ

Who owns the Starbucks company?

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Starbucks is a publicly traded company owned by its shareholders. Large asset management companies led by The Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street rank as its top shareholders. However, these companies own shares in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds they manage on behalf of their clients.

Who is the largest shareholder of Starbucks?

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As of mid-2024, The Vanguard Group was Starbucks' largest shareholder. The large asset manager held 9.5% of the coffee company's outstanding shares worth almost $10 billion. Vanguard doesn't directly own those shares; it holds them in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds it manages on behalf of its clients.

Is Starbucks owned by Nestle?

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Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) does not own Starbucks. The coffee chain is a publicly traded company owned by its shareholders. However, Nestle does own Seattle's Best Coffee brand, which it acquired from Starbucks in 2022. Nestle and Starbucks also formed a Global Coffee Alliance in 2018. That deal gave Nestle the right to sell Starbucks' packaged coffee in grocery stores and other retail stores in exchange for $7 billion.

Is Starbucks a publicly traded company?

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Starbucks is a publicly traded company. The coffee giant completed its initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in 1992.

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Matt DiLallo has positions in Alphabet, Domino's Pizza, and Starbucks and has the following options: short September 2024 $85 puts on Starbucks. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Domino's Pizza, Microsoft, Nike, Starbucks, Vanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, and T-Mobile US and recommends the following options: long January 2025 $47.50 calls on Nike, long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.