Starbucks reports decline in Q4 results with signs of recovery

SAN FRANCISCO -- Starbucks on Thursday reported financial results for its 13-week fiscal fourth quarter ending Sept 27, 2020, with the consolidated net revenues of $6.2 billion, down 8 percent from the prior year primarily due to lost sales related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The company's Non-GAAP earnings per share were $0.51, down from $0.70 in the prior year. Its full-year consolidated net revenues amounted to $23.5 billion, 11.3 percent down from the prior year, according to the quarterly report.

The fourth-quarter comparable store sales decreased 9 percent in the United States and 3 percent in China, demonstrating a sustained recovery, the company said.

In the United States, the company finished the quarter with a comparable store sales decline of 4 percent in September, a vast improvement from the approximately 60 percent decline experienced at the depth of the pandemic five months ago. In the fourth quarter, approximately 75 percent of US sales volume came from the drive-thru and Mobile Orders.

The company also saw a rebound in the number of active Starbucks Rewards (SR) members, which grew 10 percent year-over-year to 19.3 million members in the United States.

The company opened 480 net new stores in the fourth quarter, yielding a 4-percent year-over-year unit growth, ending the period with 32,660 stores globally, of which 51 percent were company-operated and the other 49 percent were licensed, said the report.

Stores in the United States and China comprised 61 percent of the company's global portfolio, with 15,337 and 4,706 stores respectively.