Starbucks’ long-game mentality frustrates investors

After another quarter of tepid sales growth, Starbucks Chief Financial Officer Scott Maw assured investors that the company is investing “strategically and with a ‘long game’ mentality.” Wall Street may not be so patient.

Starbucks grew just as much as analysts expected in the latest quarter, but investors sold shares Friday, sending the stock down as much as 2.8 percent to $57.71. Still associated with its meteoric rise to ubiquity, the company is having trouble managing expectations now that it’s among the biggest restaurant chains in the world.

“The results aren’t what people have in mind necessarily with Starbucks being a ‘growth stock,’ ” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jennifer Bartashus said. “Results were OK, just not great.”

The coffee giant met or beat analysts’ forecasts on everything from adjusted profit to samestore sales.

The reaction from investors mirrored sell-offs on positive quarterly results this week from U.S. companies such as Caterpillar Inc. and Twitter Inc., a sign that simply meeting expectations isn’t enough in a market that’s looking for reassurance that the economy will pick up speed this year.

For Starbucks, same-store sales increased 2 percent in the Americas region, while analysts estimated a gain of 1.8 percent, according to Consensus Metrix. Earnings excluding certain items amounted to 53 cents a share in the quarter, matching analysts’ projections.

Revenue rose to $6.03 billion. Analysts had projected $5.93 billion.

Starbucks has seen sales growth slow recently, especially in its home market. Along with extra rewards, marketing emails and a branded Visa credit card, the chain is looking to new cold drinks to help its U.S. business.