Starbucks Earnings Growth Matches Estimates; Q1 Forecast Falls Short

(RTTNews) - Starbucks (SBUX) reported a quarterly profit that rose from last year and matched the expectation of market analysts. The company benefited from 8 percent revenue growth at its established locations, as well as revenue from new store openings.

However, the company's forecast included an earnings prediction for the current quarter that is below the amount predicted my Wall Street experts.

Operating income for the fourth quarter rose to $969.4 million, or $0.43 per share, the company said. This was up from $854.9 million, or $0.39 per share, in the same period last year.

Excluding one-time items, the company's non-GAAP operating income rose 14.5 percent to $981.3 million. Earnings per share climbed to $0.43 compared to $0.37 last year.

This matched the $0.43 per share that market analysts were predicting.

The company said revenue for the period rose 17.6 percent for the quarter, climbing to $4.91 billion. This compared to $4.18 billion in the same period last year.

Revenue came in slightly ahead of Wall Street's expectations. Analysts were looking for a top-line figure of about $4.9 billion.

Comparable sales were up 8 percent in the quarter.

Looking ahead, the company said it will likely post non-GAAP earnings for the first quarter of $0.44 to $0.45 per share. For the full year, Starbucks is projecting a bottom line between $1.87 and $1.89 per share.

The quarterly forecast came in below what analysts were predicting. Market experts were looking for the company to earn $0.47 per share in the first quarter.

The full-year projection was in line with the current outlook on Wall Street. Analysts' consensus estimate is for $1.88 per share in fiscal 2016 - right in the middle of the company's current range.

The company is looking for consolidated revenue growth of at least 10 percent on a 52 week basis. Because of the way the fiscal year falls, fiscal 2016 will be a 53-week year for the company. The extra week is expected to add about 2 percent in additional revenue growth.

Starbucks is projecting about 1,800 net new store openings in 2016, with about half slated to be built in China and the rest of the Asia Pacific region.