Starbucks' Better-Than-Expected Fourth Quarter Means Growth Is on the Horizon
Like many restaurant stocks, Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) had some of its worst quarters ever in 2020 as COVID-19 disrupted the economy, kept people at home, and took a big bite out of sales. Net revenue fell 38% year over year in the fiscal 2020 third quarter (which ended June 28), and comparable-store sales were down as much as 65% at their lowest point in that quarter. It was a big drop, but what sales there were still actually ended up beating analyst expectations.
For Starbucks' fiscal fourth quarter (which ended Sept. 27), comps improved to a 9% decline, with comps down only 4% in the month of September. In the earnings call late last month, management said it expects sales to turn positive beginning in fiscal 2021. Again, Starbucks' performance beat analyst expectations.
Much has already been made of Starbucks' latest earnings report. But let's take a deeper dive into what was said and reported and extract a bit more of what investors really need to know about this company's potential for future growth.
Source Fool.com
