Grande Expectations: A Year in the Life of Starbucks' Stock

by Karen Blumenthal

Book Overview

A Wall Street Journal reporter and editor provides an accessible, entertaining approach to understanding investing, taking readers on a journey through a year in the life of a stock.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307339718
• ISBN13: 9780307339713
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Crown Business
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

A "Grande" Introduction to the Stock Market

While this book is subtitled "A Year in the Life of Starbucks' Stock," it serves as an introduction to the stock market for general readers--you don't have to be a coffee lover or Starbucks' stock owner to enjoy the ride. That's not to say that Starbucks fans won't enjoy it, though, as Blumenthal provides a fun look back at the rise of the Seattle coffee giant. "Grande Expectations" is by far one of the most easily accessible books on the stock market ever written. As such, seasoned investors may be let down--but for the casual investor, I give this a five-star rating.

Steve Forbes Loved It and You Will, Too.

Steve Forbes reviewed this book and loved it, and I think it appeals equally to people who understand the market well, and those who don't. Blumenthal details all the information you wish you had, but don't have time to gather, when investing in a stock. Mostly, though, it's a fascinating, fun read, and that's the reason to pick it up!

Otherwise dry material rendered frappalicious

I seldom go to Starbucks and can rarely stomach lengthy financial analysis, so I never expected to be so consumed by a book that I just happened across and then couldn't put down. As a liberal-arts-type reader, I was as riveted by this utterly charming biography of a stock as I routinely am by a great man's life story. As originally unappetizing to me as the thought of 300 pages detailing a company's year-long stock performance was the sheer pleasure here of following the author's wide-eyed pursuit of answers about why stocks rise and fall. As Ms. Blumenthal chases down a broad swath of individuals to learn all she could about the history and future prospects for Starbucks, I found the questions she put to Howard Schultz and other company execs, to security analysts and fund managers, to small DIY investors, and to many others, were exactly the kind of questions I wanted asked. Assuming you're not already a full-time securities pro, reading this book -- although it won't instantly certify you as a financial guru -- will, for less than the cost of a few macchiatos and frappucinos, make you far wiser about this amazing company and the ways of the market. Concentrating so deeply on one company enables the author to show how stock buybacks, black-box trading operations, analyst reports, and dozens of other abstract concepts actually work in a real-world case history over an extended period. Thus material that would otherwise seem academic and dry becomes far more palatable and understandable. Kudos to Ms. Blumenthal for wonderful reporting and making stock-tracking acutely interesting and intelligible.

Grande Explanation

This is a highly readable and interesting story about a cultural phenomena. The author gives us a "year-in-the life" story about Starbucks and its stock price fluctuations, while engaging the reader in behind the scenes details. She has woven a fascinating story without losing the reader to arcane financial jargon. The book is very balanced and a fun read. I highly recommend it -- Steve

Packed full of insights -- and just plain fun to read!

I've been amazed over the years at how many really smart, successful people -- CEOs, doctors, lawyers, etc. -- get utterly flummoxed by the way that the stock market works. Their own investments never do as well as they hoped. And if they have a big personal stake in the financial fate of some company, they're constantly frustrated by Wall Street's apparently fickle treatment of the company's actions and prospects. For anyone who's been stuck in that quandary -- and haven't we all? -- Karen Blumenthal's book is a ray of sunshine. She astutely focuses on Starbucks, a well-known company that we all "sort of" understand. Then, chapter by chapter, she takes us behind the scenes to show how this company's financial destiny is really being shaped. Some parts reminded me of a high-stakes judo match. (Short-sellers vs. everyone else.) Other sections read more like the journal of a lone explorer in dangerous territory (Individual investors trying to make the right decisions.) And the book's examination of hedge-fund strategies is like looking at your own blood under a microscope. It's a lucid peek at a hidden world that's packed full of weird action all the time. For anyone whose life can be helped -- or hurt -- by what happens in the stock market, this is a fascinating and enormously valuable book.