Starbucks still struggling as coffee giant's same-store sales drop for 6th straight quarter

New York Post

4 days ago

Starbucks reported a bigger-than-expected fall in third-quarter global comparable sales on Tuesday, as cautious consumer spending cooled demand at the coffee chain operator.
The company saw overall same-store sales decline 2% for the quarter ended June 29, its sixth straight quarterly contraction. Analysts on average had estimated a 1.19% dip, according to data compiled by LSEG.
CEO Brian Niccol has pushed for a simplified menu, freshly baked food items, cups with handwritten messages and quicker service as he tries to drive a brand reset since taking the helm in last August.
The company saw overall same-store sales decline 2% for the quarter ended June 29, its sixth straight quarterly contraction.
REUTERS
He has also pledged to increase investments in staffing in all 10,000-plus Starbucks-owned US stores by the end of the summer.
'We are making tangible progress in our 'Back to Starbucks' strategy. In the quarter, we made a significant non-recurring investment in our Leadership Experience 2025 and also incurred a discrete tax item, which in the aggregate, negatively impacted Q3 EPS by 11 cents,' CFO Cathy Smith said.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has pledged to increase investments in staffing in all 10,000-plus Starbucks-owned US stores by the end of the summer.
AP
In its largest North America market, same-store sales fell 2%, compared with 2% drop last year.
Customer visits to the coffee chain operator were down an average 0.1% from April to June, data by research firm Placer.ai showed. That was better than a 0.9% drop in the prior three months, suggesting that Niccol's 'Back to Starbucks' initiative and recent menu innovations were beginning to drive a turnaround, Placer.ai said.
The company's shares were down 1% at $92 in volatile extended trading.