Starbucks Reports Strong Store Traffic and Rise in Quarterly Sales

Revenues rose 9 percent from a year earlier to $9.5 billion. Net earnings, which have been under pressure as labor costs increased and Starbucks began renovating its cafes as part of its turnaround plan, rose 33 percent to $510.8 million in the quarter.

In aftermarket trading, the company’s stock was up 5.4 percent, at $102.10.

While some analysts have been concerned about belt-tightening by lower-income consumers, Mr. Niccol said Starbucks saw gains in customer visits across all incomes in the quarter.

As part of the turnaround, “we have to demonstrate for people that it’s worth it,” Mr. Niccol said. “If it’s on the low-income side, where it is seen as a bit of a splurge or a little bit of indulgence, then, by all means, we need to have those drinks that they want, and then we need to give them the experience where they feel like, you know, their hard-earned dollar, it was well worth spending.”

Still, while the company raised its full-year outlook to a 5 percent increase in same-store sales, and said it believed high coffee prices and tariffs on coffee would abate in the second half of the year, its forecasts were tempered by the uncertainty from the war and rising fuel prices.

“Customer demand trends in our business remain strong today,” Cathy Smith, the company’s chief financial officer, said on the call, “and while history demonstrates the resilience of our brand through periods of high gas prices, the current macroenvironment brings heightened uncertainty to our operating landscape and consumer behavior more broadly.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/business/starbucks-quarterly-earnings.html