Starbucks Sets First Dividend, Share Buyback
Starbucks Corp., world’s largest coffee shop operator, has set a quarterly dividend of 10 cents per share.
It is first such move by Starbucks since 1992, when it had gone public, to make payouts to shareholders. With this move, Starbucks has joined other food and beverage companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald's who return cash to shareholders.
In a statement, Seattle-based Starbucks said that the board had authorized the repurchase of 15 million shares of common stock had also been authorized by the board, that is, 2 percent of outstanding shares beginning 26 January, apart from the 6.3 million shares offered for buyback under previous authorizations.
It is expected to pay the dividend on 23 April to the shareholders who are on its record at the close of business on 7 April.
Earlier, Starbucks had told investors that it was trying to figure out how best it can use its excess cash, which saw a mammoth jump to $943 million in the fiscal 2009, as per the data compiled by Bloomberg.
Today, Starbucks is holding its annual shareholders meeting in Seattle, wherein Chief Executive Howard Schultz will outline its growth strategy.
