Starbucks Presents A 'Bitter Bean To Swallow': Analysts Cut Forecasts After FQ2 Results

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Zinger Key Points
  • Starbucks reported disappointing FQ2 results, with softness in both US and China, one analyst said.
  • The company’s FY24 global and US SSS growth guidance points towards continued headwinds, another analyst added.
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Starbucks Corp SBUX shares tanked in early trading on Wednesday, after the company reported a revenue and earnings miss.

The results came amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways from the release.

Stifel On Starbucks

Analyst Chris O’Cull maintained a Hold rating while reducing the price target from $90 to $80.

Starbucks offered a "bitter bean to swallow," with its disappointing results for the fiscal second quarter due to "significant transaction weakness in the U.S.," which was "compounded by persistent softness in China," O’Cull said in a note.

"April’s trends have remained soft, as the company has grappled with a more selective consumer and struggled to effectively engage occasional customers, leading the company to meaningful reduce FY24 guidance," the analyst wrote.

Management provided details of actions planned to curb the sales decline, including accelerated product innovations, new marketing tactics and "operational enhancements to improve peak throughput," he added.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Wedbush On Starbucks

Analyst Nick Setyan reaffirmed a Neutral rating while cutting the price target from $92 to $81.

Starbucks reported a decline in same-store sales in both U.S. and international, with an 11% downturn in China, Setyan said. The company revised its same-store sales guidance for fiscal 2024, suggesting "continued headwinds," he added.

"FY24 global and U.S. SSS growth are now expected to be in the negative LSD to flat range (prev. 4-6%) versus consensus of 3.4% and 3.7%, respectively," the analyst wrote. "FY24 EPS growth guidance was lowered to flat to +LSD (prev. 15-20%)," he further stated.

TD Cowen On Starbucks

Analyst Andrew Charles reiterated a Hold rating while slashing the price target from $100 to $85.

The performance in the fiscal second quarter is "more pronounced" as this marked the first time since the Starbucks Rewards data started being disclosed in 2013 that Starbucks saw a sequential decline in members, Charles said. He added that members declined by 1.5 million, from 34.3 million to 32.8 million.

"Starbucks quantified a 3% headwind from weather most pronounced in January, with trends qualitatively improving in March following the launch of Lavender, though reflected headwinds that have continued into April," the analyst wrote.

SBUX Price Action: Shares of Starbucks had declined by 17.14% to $73.33 at the time of publication on Wednesday.

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Photo: Manu Padilla on Shutterstock

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