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Dutch Bros Stock Launch Exceeds Company Expectations

A Dutch Bros "broista" takes a customer's order in Grants Pass on March 10, 2020.
April Ehrlich
/
JPR
A Dutch Bros "broista" takes a customer's order in Grants Pass on March 10, 2020.

The Grants Pass-based coffee chain Dutch Bros has had a wildly successful first couple of days on Wall Street.

Dutch Bros stockjumped by about 60% during its opening day on Wednesday, then jumped another 30% the next day.

Dutch Bros first opened its stock priced at $23 dollars a share, which was at the high end of earlier projections. By the end of the day’s trading, it had soared to about $37. As of early Thursday, it stood at $48.

The company gained a market value of more than $6 billion on its first day. It had initially aimed to raise up to $484 million.

“We’re just so pleased with the performance of today,” said President and CEO Joth Ricci on Wednesday. “Who knew? There were a lot of people speculating what today was going to look like. I can tell you, it far surpassed anyone’s predictions that I had heard of.”

Dutch Bros’ initial public offering became the largest in state history, making it the state’s fifth-most valuable company, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Ricci says the company aims to use this new capital to continue expanding its drive-thru coffee stands into other regions.

“We do have growth plans for growing somewhere north of a hundred locations a year for the foreseeable future,” he said. “We’ve laid out plans to grow to 4,000 locations. We’ll open our 500th location next week.”

The company’s co-founder, Travis Boersma of Grants Pass, has a 43% stake in the company, so he’s now worth at least $2.75 billion.

Dutch Bros Chairman and Co-Founder Travis Boersma rings the first trade bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 15.
Photo courtesy Dutch Bros
Dutch Bros Chairman and Co-Founder Travis Boersma rings the first trade bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 15.

Dutch Bros released photos from its day on Wall Street, showing Boersma swinging the ceremonial first trade bell at the New York Stock Exchange while wearing his signature backwards ballcap and sporty sunglasses.

The company’s public filings outline an unusual stock structure that would give Travis Boersma more than 74% voting power; basically, ensuring another entity can’t acquire Dutch Bros through a “hostile takeover.” Arrangements like this can sometimes give shareholders pause, causing stock to underperform.

Brothers Travis and Dane Boersma founded the company in Grants Pass in 1992 with a single coffee pushcart. Dane Boersma died of Lou Gehrig's disease in 2009.

Dutch Bros has since built drive-thru coffee stands in 11 western states. Ricci says the company plans to stick to its drive-thru model, while maintaining its few legacy walk-in locations in Oregon, including one in Grants Pass.

April Ehrlich is an editor and reporter at Oregon Public Broadcasting. Previously, she was a news host and reporter at Jefferson Public Radio.