SEATTLE _ Starbucks shares were down 3 percent in after-hours trading Thursday following second-quarter earnings that showed flat same-store sales growth in the U.S. and revenue that didn't meet Wall Street expectations.
For the quarter that ended April 2, sales growth at stores open at least a year was 3 percent both globally and in the U.S. _ the same rate as last quarter. A year ago, the same-store sales growth was 6 percent globally and 7 percent in the U.S.
Scott Maw, the coffee giant's chief financial officer, attributed the sluggish growth in the U.S. _ at least at the beginning of the quarter _ to continuing congestion at stores that happens when customers pick up drinks, due in large part to increasing use of mobile order and pay.
Comparable-store sales started to accelerate in March and April, Maw said, in part due to more focus on training and staffing for peak hours.
The company has also been testing what it calls a "digital order manager," which allows baristas to see on a tablet the status of all orders for the store, including those placed in-store, through mobile order and pay, and at drive-thru. The barista can check off on the tablet when a mobile order and pay order is ready, and the digital manager automatically sends a message to the customer's phone. Starbucks plans to roll this out to hundreds more stores in the next couple of quarters.
The accelerating U.S. comparable sales late in the quarter _ to 4 percent in March _ was also due to increased food sales following the launch of fancier items such as the sous vide egg bites and gluten-free breakfast sandwiches.
The company also saw "some tailwind from the Unicorn Frappuccino promotion," Maw said.
Starbucks fell short of Wall Street expectations for sales but met the earnings forecast with figures that represented second-quarter records: earnings of 45 cents per share on sales of $5.29 billion.
Wall Street analysts were expecting earnings of 45 cents on sales of $5.41 billion, according to a Reuters consensus estimate.
