Starbucks Says Business Is Steadily Recovering

(RTTNews) - Starbucks (SBUX) said its business is steadily recovering globally as most of its outlets are reopened after remaining shut for many weeks due to coronavirus pandemic.

While reporting third-quarter results on Tuesday, Starbucks president and CEO Kevin Johnson said, "We are pleased to share that the vast majority of Starbucks stores around the world have reopened and our global business is steadily recovering, demonstrating the relevance of the Starbucks brand and the trust we have built with our customers".

About 97% of company-operated Starbucks outlets are now open including 99% of stores in China and 96% of outlets in the U.S.

The company has revised its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings outlook. Starbucks now sees fourth-quarter adjusted EPS to be in the range of $0.18 to $0.33 compared with $0.15 to $0.40, provided earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect earnings of $0.27 per share for the quarter.

Full-year EPS is expected between $0.83 to $0.98, up from prior guidance of $0.55 to $0.95. The consensus estimate is at $0.86.

For the fourth quarter and full-year, Starbucks expects its global store sales to decline 12% to 17%.

In an attempt to accommodate the new reality of social distancing, the company had expanded convenient order and pick up options including mobile order, Drive-Thru, and curbside pickup. This includes Starbucks Pickup stores in dense markets.

Starbucks' revenue for the third quarter declined 38% year-over-year to $4.2 billion, hit by Covid-19. Comparable-store sales dropped 40% in the quarter.

The company posted an adjusted loss of $0.46 per share for the quarter, better than analysts' expectation of $0.59 loss per share.

SBUX closed Tuesday's trading at $74.64 and is up $4.24 or 5.68% during pre-market hours on Wednesday.