Starbucks sales top estimates on demand recovery in China

Starbucks beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly comparable sales on Tuesday, powered by a sharp recovery in business in China and steady demand for its coffees and cold drinks in North America.

With most of China's COVID-19 curbs now scrapped, consumer mobility and spending in the region bounced back sharply in March.

Evercore analysts have noted mobility appeared to be back to pre-COVID levels in recent weeks, based on the brokerage's analysis of subway data in China.

That helped the world’s largest coffeehouse chain post a 3 per cent rise in China comparable sales, boosting the company’s international sales up 7 per cent and well above analysts’ average estimate of a 2.94 per cent increase, according to Refinitiv data.

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Starbucks, whose customers are typically younger, wealthier and relatively unfazed by inflation, has doubled down on its cold and customizable beverages, boosting traffic in the U.S. and driving a 12 per cent jump in comparable store sales in its North American market.

Starbucks said global comparable store sales climbed 11 per cent in the second quarter ended April 2, compared with analysts’ expectation of a 7.36 per cent rise. – Reuters