- Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) is down 2.68% as investors settle down after some initial panic selling off of news that Howard Schultz is stepping down as CEO.
- Schultz and CEO-in-waiting Kevin Johnson made a reassuring appearance on CNBC this morning (video) and there is plenty of analyst commentary to chew on.
- RBC Capital: "We believe the company is transitioning to a new CEO during a period of strength, with a solid macro-economic backdrop, a strong leadership team, and a robust pipeline of innovation in technology, food, beverages."
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Wells Fargo: "While we acknowledge that Schultz is without question one of the strongest and most visionary leaders in the consumer/retail world, we believe the succession planning put in place several years ago assures the recent exceptional performance will likely continue."
- Cowen: The analyst team sees the new narrowed focus by Schultz on the Roastery and Reserve business as an effort to "premium-ize" the brand. The firm advises to buy SBUX on the pullback.
- On Seeking Alpha, Josh Arnold put the Schultz departure in perspective."Schultz isn't retiring - he isn't going anywhere - he's just refocusing his efforts towards growth instead of operations," he wrote. "Johnson seems more than capable of filling those shoes and not only do I not think this is a negative event, I see a lot of positives," adds Arnold.
- Previously: Starbucks CEO to step down next April (Dec. 1)
- Previously: The master plan at Starbucks features a tech-savvy CEO and retail innovation (Dec. 1)