Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) Pays A US$0.49 Dividend In Just Three Days

It looks like Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is about to go ex-dividend in the next three days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. Meaning, you will need to purchase Starbucks' shares before the 12th of May to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 27th of May.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.49 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.96 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Starbucks has a trailing yield of approximately 2.6% on its current stock price of $76.52. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Starbucks's dividend is reliable and sustainable. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

View our latest analysis for Starbucks

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Starbucks paid out more than half (51%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. Dividends consumed 61% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.

It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. For this reason, we're glad to see Starbucks's earnings per share have risen 15% per annum over the last five years. Starbucks has an average payout ratio which suggests a balance between growing earnings and rewarding shareholders. This is a reasonable combination that could hint at some further dividend increases in the future.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Starbucks has delivered an average of 22% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.

Final Takeaway

Is Starbucks an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? It's good to see earnings are growing, since all of the best dividend stocks grow their earnings meaningfully over the long run. That's why we're glad to see Starbucks's earnings per share growing, although as we saw, the company is paying out more than half of its earnings and cashflow - 51% and 61% respectively. Overall we're not hugely bearish on the stock, but there are likely better dividend investments out there.

While it's tempting to invest in Starbucks for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. To help with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Starbucks (2 don't sit too well with us!) that you ought to be aware of before buying the shares.

Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.