Starbucks earnings preview: North America sales are expected to shine
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Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) will disclose earnings for its FQ2 reporting period after the closing bell on Tuesday.
The coffee chain operator is expected to post revenue of $8.42B and EPS of $0.65. As always, the comparable sales numbers from the Seattle company will be closely watched. Starbucks (SBUX) is forecast to report total comparable sales growth of 7.3%, led by a strong 9.0% gain in the U.S. Higher pricing is expected to help lift SBUX's average ticket during the quarter, although transaction growth is also expected to be positive. Starbucks (SBUX) is anticipated to report operating income of $1.1B for the quarter.
Looking ahead, Starbucks (SBUX) is expected to guide for EPS of $1.00 for FQ3 with some margin benefits starting to play in.
On the earnings conference, some of the key items to watch for are the update on momentum in China, commentary on labor stability, and updates on new beverage or Rewards membership initiatives.
Options trading on Starbucks (SBUX) implies a swing of 5% up or down after the report is released. SBUX fell 4.4% after its last earnings report, which included misses on the top and bottom lines.
Shares of Starbucks (SBUX) rose 0.65% in early afternoon trading on Monday and are up 14.20% on a year-to-date basis to outpace broad market averages.
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