The first Starbucks (SBUX) location opened in 1971, and the company has since grown to become the world’s largest coffee purveyor with just over 28,000 stores in more than 75 countries. Starbucks stores sell not just premium coffee but also tea, packaged coffee, juices, bottled water, pastries, and various lunch items. In addition, the [...]
W.P. Carey was founded in 1973 by Bill Carey, who helped to pioneer the triple net lease and sale-leaseback REIT business model. W.P. Carey went public in 1998 as a master limited partnership but converted to a REIT in 2012. Today the REIT owns 890 properties located in 19 countries around the world. W.P. [...]
In business for more than 100 years, Southern Company (SO) is a major regulated utility involved in selling electricity and distributing natural gas, primarily across the Southeastern U.S. The firm's vertically integrated electric utilities serve customers across Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi. Southern Company’s mix of business and service territories significantly changed after the [...]
Spectra Energy Partners (SEP) is one of America's largest midstream master limited partnerships, or MLPs. Its assets include 170 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage, 5.6 million barrels of crude oil storage, and approximately 16,000 miles of gas and oil pipelines that connect producers, consumers, and exporters with some of North America's most important [...]
Founded in 1919 in Columbus, Indiana, Cummins (CMI) is the largest dedicated global industrial diesel and natural gas engine manufacturer. The company’s primary markets are highway & heavy-duty vehicles, construction, and general industrial markets, where it serves customers such as Chrysler, Daimler, Volvo, PACCAR, Navistar, CNH Global, Komatsu, and Ford. The company's products [...]
Lowe's (LOW) was founded in 1946 and is the world’s second largest home improvement retailer. The company operates over 2,100 home improvement and hardware stores (almost all in the U.S.) and helps homeowners, renters, and other customers complete a wide array of projects. The company’s stores are famous for being a one-stop shop for [...]
Originally founded in 1896 as The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company, WEC Energy Group (WEC) has grown through six major acquisitions over the past 120 years to become one of the nation’s largest electric and natural gas utilities. The company's last and largest merger, its $9.1 billion purchase of Integrys Energy in 2015, [...]
Omega Healthcare announced disappointing fourth quarter results on February 13. Most notably, after more than 20 consecutive increases to its quarterly dividend, management stated that the company's payout would remain at its current level (66 cents per share) in 2018 rather than move higher. Here were some comments made by Omega's CEO: “As a [...]