Starbucks earnings top estimates, but same-store sales decline for fourth straight quarter
Starbucks on Tuesday reported that its same-store sales slid for the fourth consecutive quarter, but the company's quarterly earnings and revenue beat Wall Street's expectations.
The coffee giant kicked off a turnaround plan last quarter in the hopes of reviving its U.S. business, which has slumped over the past year.
"While we have room for improvement, we're making progress as planned, and have confidence we're on the right track," CEO Brian Niccol said in a video released on the company's website Tuesday afternoon.
He added that the company has seen a "positive response" to the early steps it has taken. Those tweaks have included removing extra charges for nondairy milk options, focusing its marketing on its coffee and slashing 30% of its food and beverage menu items by the end of fiscal 2025.
Here is what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
Starbucks reported fiscal first-quarter net income attributable to the company of $780.8 million, or 69 cents per share, down from $1.02 billion, or 90 cents per share, a year earlier.
The company's net salesof $9.4 billion were unchanged from a year earlier.
Starbucks' same-store sales fell 4%, fueled by a 6% decline in traffic to its stores. Wall Street was expecting a steeper drop of 5.5%, according to StreetAccount estimates. Both its U.S. and international locations outperformed expectations.
U.S. same-store sales slid 4% as traffic to its cafes fell 8%. Under Niccol, who took the reins in September, the company has been trying to turn around its U.S. business by getting "back to Starbucks" and returning its focus to coffee and the customer experience.
Starbucks has also been cutting back on deals, so its discounted