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Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUXThe earnings conference call took place on Tuesday with new CEO Laxman Narasimhan and other executives focusing on new plans, including some streamlining of store operations and new investments to spur long-term growth.
Narasimhan said both The UK and Japan in the quarter featured similar double-digit sales growth nearly matching the strong performance in North America. He also said that the recovery trajectory in China is likely to be uneven even as comparable sales improve from last year. It should be noted that barista turnover improved in FQ2, which was a concern for analysts. On the product side, the launch of the Oleato drink in Italy and three US cities was noted to have been very successful and is expected to be a contributing factor to the corresponding sales growth.
In terms of guidance, Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) only confirmed its previous full-year forecast, which may be a disappointment for shareholders. Near-term uncertainties include possible shifts in consumer behaviour. SBUX expects global comparable sales growth to be near the upper end of the range +7% to +9% and US comparable sales to be +7% to +9%. Earlier, the coffee chain operator reported total revenue rising 14.5% in the second quarter to $8.7 billion, and global comparable store sales rose 11% to smash the consensus estimate of +7.3%.
Starbucks (SBUX) shares fell 5.50% in after-market trading to $108.07 after declining 0.09% during the regular session.