Starbucks revenue beats Wall Street expectations despite decline in global sales

Starbucks' reported earnings fell short of some of Wall Street’s expectations while marginally beating others as it pushes through to reinvent its brand image.

The coffee chain reported $0.50 earnings per share, a 46% decline from last year, on $9.5 billion revenue after the market closed Tuesday.

Global, North America, and U.S. sales all declined 2% in the company's fiscal third quarter, while China sales increased 2%. International sales were flat. Overall, Starbucks opened 308 new stores in the quarter.

Oppenheimer estimated an earnings per share of $0.64, plus $2.41 a share for 2025 and $2.81 for 2026. It projected Starbucks’ North America sales would dip 2.3%. 

Analysts polled by FactSet projected a mean price target of $94.25, according to MT Newswires.

Meanwhile, Zacks Equity Research had estimated an EPS of $0.46, showing a 31.2% decline from last year, with a revenue of $9.29 billion.

Starbucks' reported revenue beat expectations, which sent its stock rising in after-hour trading, although its EPS missed Wall Street's mark. The company’s stock closed at $92.96 after opening Tuesday at $93.25. It's up 2.5% this year.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said in a release that the company is "ahead of schedule" based on his "experience of turnarounds."

Starbucks’ shares have increased 3% year-to-date, Oppenheimer said in an MT Newswires report. 

Hours before Starbucks posted its earnings, the company announced its new “Green Apron Service,” which includes new operating standards “centered on customer service,” a new staffing and deployment model, and “Smart Queue” technology. 

The company said it intends to launch phase one in mid-August after already piloting the new program over the span of eight weeks in 1,500 shops. 

This announcement adds to the coffee maker's shift to get “back to Starbucks,” an initiative to make the coffee shop a “welcoming” environment and reestablish it as “the community coffeehouse,” Niccol said in a release last fall. He promised that baristas will serve fresh brewed coffee in under four minutes and has pared down the menu, among other changes — including some that haven’t been well received by the public. 

Two weeks ago, Niccol — who has only been in the role for less than a year — also announced changes to its in-office policy, which now requires four days in office and support center leaders to work in-person. 

And last month, the company announced its new AI-powered “Green Dot Assist” program that intends to focus on three tasks: allowing staff to ask specific questions, assisting them in real time, and acting swiftly. It will pilot in 35 locations, with a broader launch throughout the U.S. and Canada in the fall.

Overseas, Starbuck’s China business has been declining. Its market share has dropped from 34% in 2019 to 14% in 2024, according to Euromonitor, as local brands like Luckin Coffee and bubble tea chains continue to win over customers. Luckin Coffee could be threatening Starbucks’ U.S.-based business as well. 

Seattle-based Starbucks is on the hunt for a company to buy out a portion of its China units, with private equity firms lining up to buy a stake that could be valued as high as $10 billion, CNBC reported earlier this month, citing people familiar with the talks.

According to the report, nearly 30 domestic and international private equity firms have submitted non-binding offers so far. Some of the big names apparently in the mix include Asia-based Centurium Capital and Hillhouse Capital, as well as U.S. firms Carlyle Group and KKR.

Starbucks reportedly wants to keep a “meaningful stake” in its China operations – potentially around 30% – while selling the rest to a group of buyers, each with less than a 30% share.

—Emily Price, Michael Barclay, and Francisco Velasquez contributed to this article.