Starbucks Q2: U.S. same-store sales rise 9%, returning to pre-pandemic levels

“I am very pleased with our progress to date in fiscal 2021, as our second quarter results demonstrated impressive momentum in the business with full sales recovery in the U.S.  Our strong results validate our ability to adapt to changes in our environment and the needs of our customers,” said president and chief executive Kevin Johnson.

KEY POINTS

• Comparable store sales growth of 9% in the U.S., demonstrating full sales recovery.
• Comparable store sales growth of 91% in China, including reinstated vat benefit.
• GAAP EPS $0.56 and non-GAAP EPS $0.62 reflecting meaningful margin improvement from prior quarter.
• Active Starbucks Rewards membership in the U.S. up 18% year-over-year to 22.9 million.
• Raising full-year fiscal 2021 revenue, margin and earnings per share guidance.

Starbucks’ net sales increased 11% to $6.7 billion, missing expectations of $6.8 billion. Global same-store sales rose 15% as the company lapped a decline of 10% from the year-ago period.

U.S. same-store sales rose 9%, returning to pre-pandemic levels. A year ago, same-store sales in Starbucks’ home market declined 3% during the U.S. lockdowns.

Customers this quarter purchased more expensive and bigger hot beverages and added food to their orders, bringing the average ticket up 21%. However, foot traffic remained down 10%.

Outside the U.S., same-store sales jumped 35% notwithstanding some European nations prolonging lockdowns. China is Starbucks’ second-largest market, and same-store sales there soared 91% as it faced comparisons with last year’s 50% plummet during the same period.

Mobile payments soar

During its fiscal second quarter earnings report, Starbucks said that mobile order transactions now make up 26% of total orders at U.S. company-operated retail stores, GeekWire reported. That’s up from 18% in the year-ago quarter. Mobile order sales also doubled in China year-over-year.

GeekWire noted that the coffee chain has been promoting usage of its app for contactless payment throughout the global pandemic.