Starbucks Sales Up Slightly More than Expected

Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX) on Thursday said quarterly sales at established stores in its dominant Americas region grew a somewhat stronger-than-expected 6 percent, including a 7 percent rise for the United States.

The third fiscal quarter results from the world's biggest coffee chain followed disappointing quarterly results from McDonald's Corp and Dunkin' Donuts parent Dunkin' Brands.

But Starbucks' sales gains did not rival those from Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. The burrito chain, which has a lot of customer overlap with Starbucks, on Monday posted an eye-popping 17.3 percent rise in same-restaurant sales and its stock soared to all-time highs.

Shares in Starbucks were up just 0.4 percent in extended trading following its results.

Its net income was $512.6 million, or 67 cents per share, for the fiscal third quarter that ended June 29. That was up from $417.8 million, or 55 cents, a year earlier. Results from the latest quarter topped analysts' average estimate by a penny, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue grew 11 percent to $4.15 billion.

Analysts, on average, expected Starbucks quarterly same-store sales to rise 5.1 percent globally and for the Americas region, according to Consensus Metrix.

The Americas region contributes the majority of Starbucks' revenue.

Shares in Starbucks rose 35 cents to $80.80.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Cynthia Osterman)