Starbucks says US sales remain a bright spot as quarterly revenue falls short of forecasts

Strong U.S. demand pumped up Starbucks' results in its fiscal fourth quarter, but the coffee giant still fell short of revenue expectations.

Starbucks said its global same-store sales rose 7.2% for the July-September period, which was higher than the 6% increase Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

That was largely due to strong demand in the U.S., where same-store sales jumped 7.7%. Starbucks said sales growth was broad-based, coming from different age and income levels and at different times of the day. Popular fall drinks also drew customers.

Starbucks has also been working to winnow its U.S. stores to focus on those that are the most profitable. Starbucks announced in late September that it was immediately closing 250 North American stores. It was the second big round of store closures under Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024. In September 2025, Starbucks closed 627 stores in North America and Europe.

But international same-store sales rose less than 1% in the fourth quarter, and Starbucks noted a 2.8% decline in international store traffic.

Net revenue fell 4% for the quarter to $9.14 billion. That was lower than the $9.2 billion analysts were forecasting. Starbucks said that was due to lower contributions from China, where it finalized a joint venture in the spring. Under a joint venture, Chinese investment firm Boyu Capital operates Starbucks stores in China and Starbucks retains a 40% interest.

Adjusted for one-time items, including restructuring costs, Starbucks earned 80 cents per share, which was better than the 72 cents analysts forecast.

Starbucks shares fell 1% in after-hours trading Thursday.