Starbucks Adj. Earnings Above Expectations; Teavana Stores To Close

Shares of Starbucks weaved in and out of the red late Thursday after the retailer reported rising global sales and adjusted fiscal third-quarter earnings above Wall Street expectations. Starbucks reported net income of $692 million, or 47 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $754.1 million, or 51 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Starbucks earned 55 cents a share, compared with 49 cents a share a year ago. Revenue rose 8% to $5.7 billion, a record for the company, from $5.2 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 55 cents a share on sales of $5.76 billion. Comparable-store sales rose 4% globally, including a rise of 5% for U.S. comparable-store sales, thanks to a 5% increase in the average ticket, the company said. In the statement accompanying results, Starbucks said it will close all 379 Teavana retail stores over the coming year, citing the stores' underperformance and little hope of improvement. The majority of the stores will close in the spring of 2018, the company said. Starbucks announced earlier Thursday plans to buy 50% of Shanghai Starbucks Coffee Corp. that it didn't already own from joint-venture partners. Shares ended the regular session up 2.7%.