Starbucks hits sales record as pandemic cools

Starbucks saw record sales in the third quarter as the impact of the pandemic receded and customers flocked to its stores.

But the company’s shares fell after it lowered its forecast for sales growth in China, its second-largest market outside the U.S.

The Seattle-based coffee giant said its revenue soared 78% to $7.5 billion in the April-June period, an all-time high. That beat Wall Street’s forecast of $7.3 billion, according to analysts.

Starbucks said its global samestore sales — or sales at locations open at least a year — jumped 73% from the same period last year. Starbucks felt the brunt of the pandemic in the April-June period last year, when many stores were closed and same-store sales tumbled 40%.

Same-store sales jumped 83% in the U.S. in the fiscal third quarter. Starbucks said rural and suburban traffic, which led sales coming out of the pandemic, remained strong, but sales in urban markets also turned positive for the first time since early 2020.

Sales of higher-priced drinks — like cold brews and alternative milk beverages — juiced sales, as did higher demand for food items.

Starbucks said it’s also serving U.S. customers better with new store formats that prioritize drivethru and mobile ordering. Starbucks announced last year that it would close 400 stores and replace them with more convenient options, like small mobile pickup locations. Johnson said the company is about 80% finished with that transformation, and he noted that drive-thru orders made up nearly half of U.S. orders in the third quarter.