Amazon rises after 20-for-1 stock split, Howard Schultz to stay with Starbucks until March 2023

Yahoo Finance Live breaks down the news surrounding several trending stocks, including Keurig Dr. Pepper's addition to the S&P 500, replacing Under Armour in the index.

Video Transcript

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Welcome back, everyone. It is time for our triple play. And as we mentioned there, coffee on the menu there. My pick, first off, is Starbucks. Now the stock is currently down at the moment, just slightly, about a 1/3 of a percent down at the moment. But it's also down about 30% over the past year.

Now we are getting more details emerging about the company's next CEO. Howard Schultz will stay on as interim CEO before handing over the reins in March of 2023, according to the "Wall Street Journal." Now, in that interview, he said, quote, "For the future of the company, we need a domain of experience and expertise in a number of disciplines that we don't have now. It requires a different type of leader." It's a little bit cryptic there. But the new CEO should be announced this fall.

Now, keep in mind what they'll be inheriting. Obviously, the coffee giant still has this ongoing standoff with workers over unionization. We're seeing also that a Starbucks store in Ithaca, New York is being shut down. And some workers claim it's in retaliation for their union activism, as well as over health and safety concerns. But they're also saying it might be a tactic to scare off other workers from calls to unionize. Now, Starbucks does deny these allegations, but clearly, there will be a lot on the new CEO's plate when he takes over in March.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah, and Rachelle, this is consistent with what we heard from Cowen analyst, Andrew Charles, back in March. He, in a note to clients he published, he wrote that unionization publicity could be a factor, pushing the company to look externally. So from this report, it looks like-- and from what Howard Schultz said, it looks like he is right. Whoever the successor is, he's going to be faced with a pretty challenging job because Starbucks is still coming back from the slowdown that COVID imposed on the business, the lockdowns in China. Stock off over 30%, like you said, year to date, so they certainly will be facing some pressure here from shareholders to turn things around a bit.

All right, let's take a look at Amazon because that's a stock that's moving to the upside today. It's the first day of trading since splitting its shares 20-for-1. Now this is the fourth time Amazon has split its stock since going public back in 1997. The move was initially announced in March. Since then, Amazon is down about 12% amid a broader market downturn.

Now the stock split makes Amazon more attractive to retail investors, also more accessible to options traders. Amazon is the latest big cap company to do this. Tesla split its shares 5-for-1, and Apple split its stock 4-for-1 two years ago back in 2020. Alphabet, Dave, will begin trading on a 20-for-1 split adjusted basis next month. But taking a look at the reaction today, shares up just about 1%.

DAVE BRIGGS: Maybe not exactly the gain they were hoping for. You mentioned Alphabet, 20-for-1 in July. Shopify, 10-to-1 split in June. And then you mentioned Tesla in there earlier. Some figured Tesla might do it yet again, maybe when news quiets down for a day or so. Elon Musk will announce that to get himself back in the headlines.

My play is Keurig Dr. Pepper, KDP. That stock popped in pre-market trading, up 8% this morning. On Friday, the S&P announced that KDP would replace Under Armour in the index, the change effective prior to the open of trading on Friday, June 17 to coincide with the quarterly rebalance. The S&P said the charges are being made to ensure each index is more representative of its market cap range. Keurig Dr. Pepper is flat over the last 12 months. No bubbles, but rising big time today. It was up 5 and 1/2% when I put this in and beginning to fall as we get closer to the closing bell, but still up just about 5% on the news, Rachelle.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: I mean, it really is an example of how we do see things shift over time, but some of the companies that you thought would have some longevity there sort of getting booted out there. I feel quite bad for Under Armour, the local hometown hero, you know, obviously, around here in Maryland. And they really were on the cutting edge when you look at the Maryland football team and what they were able to do in terms of helmet safety and things like that. But the times do change. And obviously, the makeup of the S&P changes, too.