The Top 5 Shareholders of Starbucks

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) has grown into one of the world's biggest coffeehouse chains by selling an ever-growing selection of products. It's a retailer, roaster, and provider of its own brand of specialty coffee. It also sells hot and cold beverage products, baked goods and other food items, as well as coffee-related merchandise like mugs, scoops, and presses.

The first Starbucks opened in 1971 at Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market and went public two decades later in 1992. From its beginning as a single storefront serving fresh-roasted whole bean coffees, the company now has 32,000 stores in scores of countries. Starbucks earned net income of $3.4 billion on annual revenue of $26.7 billion in the most recent 12-month trailing period. It has a total market capitalization of $88.7 billion.

Below, we'll look at the top five shareholders in Starbucks based on the number of shares owned. As of this writing, four of these shareholders are investment management companies and one is Starbucks' former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Howard Schultz. The four management companies reported their stakes for the period ending March 31. We estimated the value of Schultz's reported stake based on the price of the stock at the close of trading on March 31, which was $65.37.

Vanguard Inc.

Vanguard is one of the world's largest investment management companies with about 425 low-cost traditional funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The firm has about $6.2 trillion in global assets under management (AUM). Vanguard's funds hold approximately 90.5 million shares of Starbucks, comprising about 7.7% of the total number of shares outstanding with a market value of nearly $6.0 billion. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) is one of the company's largest ETFs with about $138.7 billion in AUM. As much as 0.30% of VTI's holdings are allocated to shares of Starbucks.

BlackRock Inc.

BlackRock is one of the world's leading asset and investment management firms with approximately $6.47 trillion in AUM. The firm offers a wide range of mutual funds, iShares ETFs and closed-end funds. BlackRock's funds hold approximately 84.3 million shares of Starbucks, comprising about 7.2% of the total number of shares outstanding with a market value of $5.5 billion. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) is one of BlackRock's largest ETFs with about $185.8 billion in AUM. As much as 0.35% of IVV's holdings are shares of Starbucks.

State Street Corp.

State Street is a leading asset and investment management company with approximately $3.1 trillion in AUM. The firm provides a range of financial products and services to institutional investors around the world. State Street's funds hold approximately 51.4 million shares of Starbucks, comprising about 4.4% of total shares outstanding with a market value of $3.4 billion. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is one of State Street's largest ETFs with about $270.3 billion in AUM. As much as 0.34% of SPY's holdings are allocated to shares of Starbucks.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd.

Magellan Asset Management is an Australia-based asset and investment management company offering a range of financial products and services including, asset management, equities, ETFs, investment strategies, financial planning, and more. Magellan's funds hold approximately 31.5 million shares of Starbucks, comprising about 2.7% of the total number of shares outstanding with a market value of $2.1 billion. One of Magellan's biggest funds, at $11.9 billion in assets, is the Magellan Global Fund. Shares of Starbucks are among the fund's top ten holdings.

Howard Schultz

Howard Schultz is an American billionaire and one of Starbucks' biggest shareholders. He remains chair emeritus of Starbucks after stepping down in 2018 from his roles as executive chair and board member of the company. But his relationship to the company goes all the way back to the early 1980s when he first met Starbucks owners Gerald Baldwin and Gordon Bowker. Impressed by their passion for coffee, Schultz persuaded Baldwin to hire him on as the company's director of retail operations and marketing. In 1983, Schultz made a trip to Italy and became inspired by the popularity of espresso bars in Milan. When he returned, he convinced Starbucks' owners to create a similar coffeehouse culture in Seattle. Several years later, Schultz would begin his first stint as CEO, expanding the company from 17 stores in 1987 to more than 3,500 stores in 2000. He then stepped down and became chair. But when the company began to founder, he resumed the role of CEO in 2008 and continued in that position until 2017. Schultz owns about 33.0 million shares of Starbucks directly and 1.7 million indirectly through trusts, which comprise about 2.9% of the company's total shares outstanding. The value of his shares is estimated at nearly $2.3 billion as of March 31, the period for which other large shareholders reported.