Starbucks (SBUX) is Gaining from the CEO’s Multi-Year Turnaround Strategy

1 hour ago 3

Soumya Eswaran

Wed, April 29, 2026 astatine 7:29 AM CDT 3 min read

Polen Capital, an concern absorption company, released its “Polen Focus Growth Strategy” first-quarter 2026 capitalist letter. A transcript of the missive tin beryllium downloaded here. The archetypal 4th of 2026 was highly volatile for US equities, driven by AI disruption concerns and the US-Israel struggle successful Iran and the Middle East. In this backdrop, the Polen Focus Growth Strategy declined 17.16% successful the quarter, compared to a -9.78% instrumentality for the Russell 1000 Growth and -4.33% instrumentality for the S&P 500. The Strategy focuses connected mission-critical businesses with recurring gross and competitory advantages and capitalizes connected the volatility to summation investments successful bundle and semiconductor companies. The Strategy remains assured successful the semipermanent imaginable of the Portfolio, emphasizing businesses with beardown economical moats, robust equilibrium sheets, and multi-year net growth. In addition, delight cheque the Strategy’s apical 5 holdings to cognize its champion picks successful 2026.

In its first-quarter 2026 capitalist letter, Polen Focus Growth Strategy highlighted Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) arsenic a starring contributor to the Strategy's performance. Based successful Seattle, Washington, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is simply a starring java institution and coffeehouse chain. On April 28, 2026, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) closed astatine $97.28 per share. One-month instrumentality of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) was 7.57%, and its shares gained 21.52% implicit the past 52 weeks. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) has a marketplace capitalization of $110.83 billion.

Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the pursuing regarding Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) successful its Q1 2026 capitalist letter:

"Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) was the apical performing implicit and comparative contributor successful Q1 amid affirmative signs that CEO Brian Nicol’s multi twelvemonth turnaround strategy is opening to carnivore fruit. Comparable store income person ticked up, and the institution is seeing improved results from stores that person undergone a revamp arsenic portion of the wide turnaround strategy. Our assurance successful the caller absorption squad and their quality to execute a multi-pronged, sensible and achievable program was a superior crushed for reacquiring the institution past year, successful summation to the non-cyclical characteristics that the institution person which were connected show amidst the volatility truthful acold this year."

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Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is not connected our database of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 59 hedge money portfolios held Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) astatine the extremity of the 4th quarter, compared to 64 successful the erstwhile quarter. While we admit the imaginable of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) arsenic an investment, we judge definite AI stocks connection greater upside imaginable and transportation little downside risk. If you're looking for an highly undervalued AI banal that besides stands to payment importantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, spot our escaped study connected the best short-term AI stock.

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