Starbucks Beats Sales Estimates, But Comparable Sales Slide Extends to Record 6 Quarters

TradingKey - On July 29 (local time), Starbucks(SBUX) released its Q3 2025 fiscal earnings report. Despite actively implementing strategic adjustments to return to profitability, global comparable store sales continued to decline for the sixth consecutive quarter.

The quarter recorded revenue of $9.5 billion, representing a 4% year-over-year increase that exceeded market expectations of $9.31 billion.

However, profit saw a significant decline, with Q3 net income reaching $558.3 million (or 49 cents per share), far below the prior-year figure of $1.05 billion (or 93 cents per share).

Global comparable store sales decreased by 2%, a steeper decline than the market's anticipated 1.3%. The company partially offset the negative impact of declining transaction volume through a 1% increase in average transaction value.

Notably, Starbucks' North American stores performed relatively better than the global average, with comparable store sales declining 2%—a smaller decrease than Wall Street's forecast of 2.5%.

In store expansion, the company maintained growth momentum by opening 308 net new stores during the quarter. As of the end of Q3, Starbucks operated 41,097 stores globally. By store structure, 53% were company-operated and 47% were licensed.

The U.S. and China remain Starbucks' two core markets, with their combined store count representing 61% of the company's global total. The U.S. market comprised 17,230 stores, while China accounted for 7,828 stores.