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Howard Schultz

29 statements across 2 episodes · 7 bullish · 9 bearish · 3 people on the record · first statement May 18, 2023 by Daniel Ek · said 7 times in 4 episodes since 2023 · across every show →

On the record as a speaker too: Howard Schultz's record, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.

Mentions by year

brought up most by Daniel Ek (3), Ben Gilbert (2), Jamie Dimon (1), David Rosenthal (1)

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2025 3 mentions in 2 episodes 2 per episode
2024 1 mention in 1 episode
2023 3 mentions in 1 episode

every mention, scene by scene, with the transcript →

Everything said about Howard Schultz, oldest first

May 18, 2023
Assertion Contradicted
Ek: Starbucks was one of the largest CD retailers in the US
“Starbucks and Howard Schultz was actually one of the biggest retailers of CDs. In the U.S.”
Daniel Ek May 18, 2023 ▶ 45:39 Spotify CEO Daniel Ek · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024
Insight
Schultz: Post-founder companies lose entrepreneurial DNA and play defense out of fear
“Founder leaves, I'm not talking about me, it's you, historically, and companies lose not only the extent of the entrepreneurial DNA, but they lose the ability to be on offense. And the worst thing that a company can do, like a sports team, is start playing def…”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 2:59:56 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 negative
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schultz: An Il Giornale investor tried to hijack the 1987 Starbucks acquisition
“Jerry gave me about, I think he gave me 90 days to raise 3.8 million dollars. Around the second month, he just came to me and said, where are you with all this? And I think I had about half of it raised. I might have fibbed a bit and said I had a little bit mo…”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 30:56 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schultz: Bill Gates did not know his father saved the Starbucks acquisition
“Bill did not know the whole story. He didn't know any of it. He didn't know what his father had done for me. He's hearing it for the first time.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 37:01 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 positive
Assertion Supported
Schultz: Starbucks and Pepsi launched bottled Frappuccino via 50/50 JV
“Subsequently, Craig Weatherup and I, on a napkin, I swear, shook hands and created a multi-billion dollar business For Pepsi and Starbucks and a fifty-fifty JV and bottle Frappuccino.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:24:23 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024
Assertion Supported
Schultz: Starbucks was seven months from insolvency in 2008
“I went up there, and I laid it out. Chapter and verse. I think we have seven months left. We are going to be insolvent.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:49:05 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024
Assertion Partly supported
Schultz: Starbucks Replaced Entire Executive Team Except General Counsel
“He was right, except for one, the general counsel. They were all gone.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:57:43 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024
Assertion Supported
Schultz: Starbucks never had a negative comp month before 2008
“Never had a negative comp month in my history of the company.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:46:25 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schultz: 10-11 daily customers per store could reverse negative comps
“And then I had this economic formula of how many customers it would take per store to turn comps around. And the number was low. It's like less than 10 per day or 11 per day.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:49:32 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 neutral
Assertion Supported
Schultz was rejected by 217 of 242 investors for initial $1.6M round
“For the initial 1.6 million that you raised for Il Giornale, you talked to 242 investors, 217 of which said no.”
Ben Gilbert Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 39:28 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 positive
Assertion Partly supported
Schultz: Starbucks suspended buybacks to invest over $2B into partners
“The day I came back, and I knew what the market would do, is I announced that we were suspending the stock buybacks, and stock went down. I expected it, and I announced that we were going to take basically the money we were using to stock buybacks for the year…”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 3:07:56 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024
Disclosure
Schultz: Starbucks uses lowercase employee job titles out of respect
“No, everyone was lowercase from the beginning. Out of respect. Everyone's lowercase.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:20:41 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 negative
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schultz: Faema and Lavazza both rejected investing in Il Giornale
“One is the espresso company, Faima. And one is the large Italian coffee company Lavazza. And I asked them both to invest in my idea. And both of them turned me down.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 23:59 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schultz: Consulted daily with Michael Dell before returning as Starbucks CEO
“On that holiday, a friend of mine Not, I didn't know he was there, but it was Michael Dell was there. And I must've talked to him almost every day about the transformation of Starbucks. And he was going through a similar thing at Dell almost at the same time. …”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:43:55 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 bullish
Assertion Supported
Schultz: Starbucks store model targeted 2:1 sales-to-investment and 20% operating profit
“The model basically was a sales to investment ratio of two to one. And a operating profit of 20%.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 43:35 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 negative
Opinion
Schultz: Starbucks developed hubris and shifted to playing defense over time
“The worst thing that could happen to a company is believing that you are incapable of doing anything but succeeding, and you deserve the success. But if you start playing defense and don't have the offensive mind, it's not going to go well. And I think over ti…”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 3:00:28 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 negative
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schultz: Coca-Cola dismissed Starbucks ready-to-drink pitch in under 30 minutes
“The Coke meeting was a meeting lasted less than 30 minutes. I can't remember who I met with. They dismissed me didn't view Starbucks or, didn't understand what I was trying to do and didn't give me much time to even explain it.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:23:43 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 neutral
Assertion Partly supported
Schultz: Starbucks had 11 stores and 100 employees at end of 1987
“August of 87. We bought the six Starbucks stores. We had the three old Eldranales, and there were two stores under construction. So at the end of the calendar year, we had 11 stores And a hundred employees in 1987.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 38:33 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 negative
Disclosure
Schultz: Childhood trauma led to strict zero-debt rule at Starbucks
“No, it was totally my childhood. My parents were always in debt. Bill collectors were always calling. And no, there was, we never had any debt the entire time. Never.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 40:58 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 positive
Assertion Partly supported
Schultz: Starbucks Granted 14% of Base Pay in Stock Options Pre-IPO
“Ultimately we gave 14% of everyone's base pay in the form of stock options at the end of the year based on the strike price. And I had to do it the year before the IPO.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:05:02 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 negative
What-if
Schultz: Starbucks should have secured an exclusive on the modern sip lid
“Howard Schultz should have said to them, I want an exclusive on that lid. Because that lid became the standard for the world. If I would have just understood that.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 46:37 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 neutral
Assertion Supported
Gilbert: Approximately 70% of Starbucks drink sales are now iced beverages
“What is it, 70% of drinks are now iced beverages, and it was when you started, zero percent.”
Ben Gilbert Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 2:57:46 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 neutral
Disclosure
Schultz: No desire or intent to return as Starbucks CEO
“The first thing I want to say is I've made it clear to the Starbucks board, Howard Schultz, and I've made it clear to Loxman, Howard Schultz has no desire or intent to return as CEO of Starbucks.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 3:11:07 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 neutral
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schultz did 100 Starbucks earnings calls as CEO, mostly unscripted
“I did a hundred quarterly conference calls as CEO. A hundred. That's a lot of earnings prep, because each one of those has, what, two weeks before it of. The truth is, the majority of those were no script.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:40:33 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 negative
Opinion
Schultz: Starbucks Pricing Has Become a Problem Amid Recent Inflation
“There certainly was a fair amount of discussion all the time about the sensitivity of the price points, and I think in later years, maybe in the last couple years, given the consumer inflationary time, I think it's become a bit of a problem.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:02:22 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 positive
Assertion Partly supported
Schultz: Starbucks beverage retail achieved roughly 80% gross margins early on
“The ability to source and roast coffee And put that through the supply chain of a beverage gave us probably at the time an 80% gross margin.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 41:39 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Schultz: Goldman Sachs rejected leading Starbucks' 1992 IPO for being too small
“We got turned down by Goldman Sachs.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:17:54 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 negative
What-if
Schultz: Starbucks should not have launched 24/7 on-demand mobile ordering
“I don't think I would have allowed the mobile app to be on demand, 24 hours a day. I would have slow rolled the availability of it, and then understood how it was being used, and whether or not it was going to disrupt the experience.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 2:06:39 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
Jun 4, 2024 negative
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schultz: Previous Starbucks leadership diluted coffee quality to maximize yield
“Because the previous administration had done things that diluted the integrity of coffee to maximize yield.”
Howard Schultz Jun 4, 2024 ▶ 1:50:48 Starbucks (with Howard Schultz) · Acquired
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