Starbucks Investors Breathe Sigh Of Relief Amid Report Of No SEC Inquiry

Starbucks SBUX investors are breathing a sigh of relief after reports emerged there is no U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry.

There had been numerous reports the company has been communicating with the SEC on how it recognizes revenue.

On Wednesday, a Starbucks spokesperson told Benzinga:

“Despite some initial incorrect media reports suggesting that Starbucks is under investigation by the SEC for financial reporting irregularities, the fact is there is no inquiry. In recent months, we exchanged letters with the SEC to clarify how we applied new revenue-recognition accounting standards, as is customary. This was part of a normal comment letter process for new accounting guidance that more than 200 other companies also received.”

The spokesperson said Starbucks has adopted the new revenue-recognition accounting standard beginning October 2018—well before we received an SEC comment letter on this topic.

"We have consistently disclosed the impact of this standard in our reported results. As a result of these communications, we are not required to restate prior financials or change our accounting going forward,” the spokesperson said.

Starbucks will be expanding some footnotes in its financials, to provide additional, clarifying information.

Starbucks shares trading up 0.28% at $90.60 at time of publication. The stock has a 52-week high of $99.72 and a 52-week low of $54.10.

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