A Starbucks store is seen inside the Tom Bradley terminal at LAX airport in Los Angeles, California.
Lucy Nicholson | Reuters
Starbucks is expected to report its fiscal first-quarter earnings after the bell Thursday.
Here’s what Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refinitiv are expecting:
- Earnings per share: 77 cents expected
- Revenue: $8.78 billion expected
Shares of Starbucks have risen more than 12% over the last year, fueled by investor optimism around China’s reopening and the persistence of U.S. consumers’ coffee habits. Wall Street is predicting the coffee giant will report North American same-store sales growth of 10.1%, according to StreetAccount estimates.
Two surges in strike activity during November and December from unionized Starbucks workers didn’t make a dent on holiday sales, according a Barclays research report. Nearly 280 company-owned Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize as of Jan. 23, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board. Starbucks and the union have yet to agree on a contract for any of the newly unionized locations.
But investors’ main focus will likely be on China, the company’s second-largest market. The Chinese government relaxed its zero Covid policy, a move that is a long-term win for Starbucks’ sales there. New Covid cases have soared, which could slow down the company’s comeback in the short term.
Last quarter, Starbucks said it was projecting revenue growth of 10% to 12% and adjusted earnings per share growth on the low end of 15% to 20% for fiscal 2023.
