Polen Global Growth Strategy Reestablished a Position in Starbucks (SBUX). Here’s Why

Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen Global Growth Strategy” second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The market entered 2025 embracing the new U.S. administration’s pro-growth policies, often overlooking potential tariff and valuation headwinds. International stocks have outperformed U.S. stocks since 2009. Despite the positives, global equities remained vulnerable due to geopolitical tensions and growing uncertainty. The Strategy returned 8.16% gross of fees (7.87% net of fees) in the quarter compared to the MSCI ACW Index’s 11.53% return. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its second-quarter 2025 investor letter, Polen Global Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX). Based in Seattle, Washington, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) engages in the roasting, marketing, and retail of coffee globally. The one-month return of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) was -5.20%, and its shares lost 1.99% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 19, 2025, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) stock closed at $90.93 per share, with a market capitalization of $103.36 billion.

Polen Global Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

“We have reestablished our position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), now under the leadership of newly appointed CEO Brian Niccol, formerly of Chipotle. Niccol has articulated a clear, multi-pronged turnaround plan that we view as both practical and achievable. We believe Starbucks’ store operations became overly complex, resulting in over-tasked baristas and a poor customer experience. Having successfully revitalized Chipotle, we view Niccol as the right leader for Starbucks. He has already identified fixes for in-store operations, marketing, and customer service that we believe can potentially result in meaningful impact in the not-too-distant future, provided they are effectively scaled across 17,000 U.S. stores. We believe Starbucks retains an aspirational brand and a loyal customer base. As such, we see solid growth ahead through store productivity, new-store growth, and significant margin expansion. After a few years of mismanagement and a languishing stock, we expect considerable upside for this iconic brand.”

Starbucks Corporation (SBUX): Betting Against CEO Niccol "Is A Huge" Mistake, Says Jim Cramer

A barista pouring freshly brewed coffee from an espresso machine to a cup in a bustling cafe.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 70 hedge fund portfolios held Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) at the end of the first quarter, compared to 84 in the previous quarter. In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) recorded a revenue of $9.5 billion, marking a 4% increase compared to the previous year. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we covered Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) and shared the list of stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.