Coffee chain posts $319M profit

Improved U.S. holiday sales helped Starbucks Corp. achieve betterthan-expected results in its fiscal first quarter.

After a disappointing holiday in 2017, Starbucks made some changes. This past year, holiday drinks went on sale earlier and the company removed some merchandise from the lobby to make a clearer path to gift cards.

It worked. Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Roz Brewer said gift card sales — which were down last year — jumped 12 percent to $2.6 billion in its fiscal first quarter that ended Dec. 30.

Net revenue for Starbucks’ Americas segment rose 8 percent to $4.6 billion. Same-store sales growth was up 4 percent. Store transactions were flat, but customers spent more per visit.

Starbucks hopes to boost U.S. sales by adding a delivery option through UberEats. It announced earlier this week that the service is launching soon at some stores in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles. Brewer said more cities will be announced at the end of the second quarter. Tests last fall in Miami indicated that customers spent slightly more on delivery orders, Brewer said.

The Seattle-based company earned $760.6 million, or 61 cents per share, during the quarter. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs like restructuring expenses, were 75 cents per share. Analysts had forecast earnings of 65 cents per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.