It’s been a pretty awful start to 2019 for a lot of investors, as jittery markets and an overall bearish sentiment pulled share prices lower. However, while the likes of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) have made sizable dents in many investors’ portfolios, Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) has seen its share price rise more than 20% over the past six months, leaving people asking what Starbucks stock has going for it.

Compare that to the DJI’s 5% loss over the same time period, and the coffee chain is looking strong. The thing is, Starbucks doesn’t have the same super-high growth appeal that it used to, but the firm’s future looks solid and steady- an attribute that shouldn’t be discounted in today’s market. 

Some analysts have argued that SBUX is in danger of losing out to competition from companies like McDonalds (NYSE:MCD) who are building out their breakfast and coffee offerings as well as smaller indie coffee chains like Peets. That’s true, competition in the coffee-shop space has increased meaningfully, but SBUX has established itself as a leader in its field.

Customer Loyalty and Starbucks Stock

The firm has created a brand that coffee lovers trust and recognize. Starbucks’ mobile ordering and hugely successful app have made it faster and more convenient than ever to grab a coffee on the go.

So, while its true that people can easily switch over to a competitors coffee without much friction, people know what to expect with Starbucks. They’ve loaded money onto their mobile app, they know the coffee will be good and they want to collect their rewards. 

Yes, Starbucks is up against more competition than it was 10 years ago, but the company has remained hyper focused on the parts of its business that have set it apart from competitors.

Unlike fast-food chains, Starbucks aims to make its locations welcoming and encourages patrons to spend time there chatting or working. The company recently announced that it was revamping its stores and trying to free-up baristas’ time in order to focus more on customer relationships. 

As indie coffee shop culture continues to gain momentum, this welcoming, personalized experience is important in order to hold on to customers. However, unlike a mom-and-pop coffee shop, SBUX also offers its customers a hugely popular mobile app complete with online ordering and a rewards scheme.

In addition to improving in-person customer experiences, Starbucks management says it’s working on improving its online presence with consumers and continuing to tweak its rewards scheme.

Growth Ahead

Starbucks has clearly placed a huge emphasis on maintaining customer loyalty, and rightly so; that customer loyalty has translated into strong comparable growth for Starbucks stock so far. Impressive comps are seen continuing in the years to come as well as the firm builds on its already solid reputation.

On top of that, management has kept the company’s operations efficient which has kept margins stable. Those factors are expected to produce annualized earnings growth of 10% or higher in the long run for Starbucks. 

Shareholder Friendly

Another big reason to love Starbucks stock is the fact that the company has been consistently shareholder-friendly and investors can expect that attitude to continue. Last year the company decided to return an additional $10 billion to shareholders through dividend payments and share repurchases.

We’ve seen the firm raise dividend payments consistently over the past few years. Shareholders saw the SBUX stock’s quarterly dividend more than double between 2015 and 2018. 

There’s likely more of that to come in the future as well, with a payout ratio of just 37, Starbucks has plenty of room to increase its dividend payments in the years ahead. 

Bottom Line on Starbucks Stock

It’s hard to pick a winner in today’s market, but Starbucks stock looks like a pretty good bet. The company offers stability to investors, something that’s hard to find at the moment.

Plus, although the company’s dividend yield is just 2.27% at the moment, that figure is likely to increase significantly over the next five years, which will turn SBUX into a great dividend pick as well.

If you’re looking for a security you can buy and hold onto without much worry, Starbucks stock should be on your radar. 

As of this writing, Laura Hoy was long SBUX, FB and AAPL.