Stocks / SBUX
What If You Had Invested in Starbucks 10 Years Ago?
Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
SBUX $105.41 ▼ -0.71% last close, Nov 06, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in SBUX in November 2016, today it would be worth
$2,245
Same $1,000 in the S&P 500 (SPY): $3,907
If you had put $500 a month into SBUX since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$89,109
Same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY): $129,289
More options in the What If calculator.
SBUX live price chart
SBUX returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | SPY per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | +23.2% | +23.2% | $1,232 | +8.8% |
| 3 years | +13.8% | +4.4% | $1,138 | +18.7% |
| 5 years | +7.8% | +1.5% | $1,078 | +11.5% |
| 10 years | +124.5% | +8.4% | $2,245 | +14.6% |
| 20 years | +714.4% | +11.1% | $8,144 | +10.6% |
| Since 1992 | +41237.3% | +19.1% | $413,373 | — |
SBUX year by year
Best full year: 2009 (+143.8%). Worst: 2008 (-53.8%).
| Year | SBUX | SPY | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | +27.4% | +8.7% | |
| 2025 | -5.3% | +17.7% | |
| 2024 | -2.5% | +24.9% | |
| 2023 | -1.2% | +26.2% | |
| 2022 | -13.2% | -18.2% | |
| 2021 | +11.1% | +28.7% | |
| 2020 | +24.2% | +18.3% | |
| 2019 | +39.1% | +31.2% | |
| 2018 | +14.7% | -4.6% | |
| 2017 | +5.4% | +21.7% | |
| 2016 | -6.1% | +12.0% | |
| 2015 | +48.2% | +1.2% | |
| 2014 | +6.2% | +13.5% | |
| 2013 | +48.1% | +32.3% | |
| 2012 | +18.3% | +16.0% | |
| 2011 | +45.4% | +1.9% | |
| 2010 | +41.2% | +15.1% | |
| 2009 | +143.8% | +26.4% | The turnaround under Howard Schultz worked and the stock more than doubled. |
| 2008 | -53.8% | -36.8% | Starbucks had opened stores too fast just as the recession hit. It closed hundreds of U.S. stores and the stock lost more than half. |
| 2007 | -42.2% | +5.1% |
SBUX: all at once or every month?
Take $12,000: all of it on day one, or $1,000 a month for a year. Across every starting month since 1992 (402 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 271 (67%). Starbucks's flat run since 2021 made monthly investing win often for recent starts, including every month of 2023. Before that, its best years for monthly buying were 2006 to 2008. The best case for monthly investing was a start in October 2007, when it finished the year 50% ahead.
Worst drop
SBUX's worst fall in this history was -76.4%, a near wipe-out, from June 2006 to November 2008. Getting back to the old high took until June 2011: 31 months from the bottom and 5.0 years from the peak. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $236 at the low.
Starbucks opened stores too fast in the mid-2000s, and sales at existing stores began falling even before the recession. As U.S. consumers cut back in 2008, the stock lost about three quarters. Howard Schultz returned as CEO, closed hundreds of stores, and the shares were back at their old high by mid-2011.
Starbucks dividends
SBUX paid $2.48 per share over the last 12 months, in February, May, August and November. At $105.41 that is 2.35%, a moderate yield. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly payout grew +7.8% a year, steadily. The yearly total did not fall once in the last ten years. Amounts are adjusted for splits.
| Year | Dividends / share | Change | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $2.45 | +5.6% | 2.91% |
| 2024 | $2.32 | +7.4% | 2.54% |
| 2023 | $2.16 | +8.0% | 2.25% |
| 2022 | $2.00 | +8.7% | 2.02% |
| 2021 | $1.84 | +9.5% | 1.57% |
| 2020 | $1.68 | +12.8% | 1.57% |
| 2019 | $1.49 | +12.9% | 1.69% |
| 2018 | $1.32 | +25.7% | 2.05% |
| 2017 | $1.05 | +23.5% | 1.83% |
| 2016 | $0.85 | +25.0% | 1.53% |
Yield = each year’s dividends divided by the price at the end of the year.
SBUX dividend history: last 12 payments
| Ex-dividend date | Amount | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2026 | $0.6200 | +0.0% |
| May 15, 2026 | $0.6200 | +0.0% |
| Feb 13, 2026 | $0.6200 | +0.0% |
| Nov 14, 2025 | $0.6200 | +1.6% |
| Aug 15, 2025 | $0.6100 | +0.0% |
| May 16, 2025 | $0.6100 | +0.0% |
| Feb 14, 2025 | $0.6100 | +0.0% |
| Nov 15, 2024 | $0.6100 | +7.0% |
| Aug 16, 2024 | $0.5700 | +0.0% |
| May 16, 2024 | $0.5700 | +0.0% |
| Feb 08, 2024 | $0.5700 | +0.0% |
| Nov 09, 2023 | $0.5700 | — |
How much Starbucks do you need for $1,000 a month?
About $510,048, or roughly 4,839 shares at $105.41. That uses SBUX's last 12 months of dividends ($2.48 a share, a 2.35% yield) and is before tax.
| Income | Invest | Shares | Paid as |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $255,024 | 2,419 | $1,500/qtr |
| $1,000 | $510,048 | 4,839 | $3,000/qtr |
| $2,000 | $1,020,097 | 9,677 | $6,000/qtr |
SBUX pays quarterly (ex-dividend in Feb, May, Aug, Nov), so “$1,000 a month” really arrives as about $3,000 four times a year.
The payout grew 7.8% a year over the last five years. If it kept that pace, about $239,827 invested today, with nothing added and nothing reinvested, would be paying $1,000 a month ten years from now. That is a projection, not a promise.
These are mostly qualified dividends, taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% at the federal level depending on your income, plus any state tax. In an IRA or Roth IRA there is no tax on them along the way.
Want to build toward it with monthly buys? Try the dividend calculator with SBUX's numbers filled in.
Stock splits
- September 1993: 2-for-1
- December 1995: 2-for-1
- March 1999: 2-for-1
- April 2001: 2-for-1
- October 2005: 2-for-1
- April 2015: 2-for-1
One share bought before 1993 is 64 shares today.
About Starbucks
| Company | Starbucks Corporation |
| Listed | June 1992 (Nasdaq) |
| Sector | Consumer discretionary (restaurants) |
| Dividend | Paid since 2010, raised every year |
Starbucks went public in June 1992 with fewer than 200 stores and grew into the largest coffee chain in the world. Its biggest markets are the U.S. and China.
Howard Schultz, who built the company, has run it three times. He came back in 2008, when over-expansion and the recession had cut the stock by about three quarters, and again on an interim basis in 2022.
In August 2024 Starbucks hired Brian Niccol away from Chipotle to fix slowing sales, and the stock jumped about 24% on the day of the announcement.
China and competition
China became Starbucks's second-biggest market, but local chains such as Luckin Coffee overtook it in store count with much cheaper drinks. In 2025 Starbucks agreed to sell a majority of its China store business to an investment firm while keeping a stake and licensing the brand.
Back to Starbucks
Brian Niccol's plan, called Back to Starbucks, aims to speed up service, trim the menu and bring back the coffeehouse feel, down to handwritten names on cups. The stock's flat run since 2021 shows how much the market is waiting for proof that it works.
Questions about SBUX
Did SBUX beat the S&P 500?
Almost exactly tied. Over the last 20 years the gap was 0.4 percentage points a year: +11.1% a year for SBUX against +10.6% for SPY, dividends reinvested. It also fell harder at its worst (-76.4% against -50.8% for SPY over the same history).
Does Starbucks pay a dividend?
Yes, quarterly, since 2010, and it has raised the payout every year since it started.