A buzz has been surrounding shares of Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX)
Thursday ahead of the company's second-quarter earnings report,
expected out just after the closing bell this afternoon. While the
stock traded slightly higher for the majority of the intraday
session, a strong move higher in the broader stock market has
pushed Starbucks shares about 2.5 percent heading into the results.
Analysts on the Street are expecting Starbucks to post a quarterly
profit of 39 cents per share on sales of $3.18 billion. The company
issued second-quarter 2011 EPS of 34 cents on sales of $2.79
billion and first-quarter 2012 EPS of 50 cents on sales of $3.44
billion.
Starbucks shares have rallied about 9 percent over the last month,
and are up nearly 33 percent so far in 2012.
Data from StreetInsider.com's
Earnings History
section shows the company has topped analyst estimates by about 2.6
percent over the last four quarters.
Analyst Ratings
data on Starbucks shows 14 sell-side firms with a Buy rating on the
stock, two with a Neutral rating, and none with a Sell rating.
Notably, the average analyst price target on the stock is around
$60, right at the level shares are currently trading.
Analyst Comments:
- Goldman issued a note this morning which pointed to recent
data showing Starbucks' dollar share in the K-Cup market is now
at a new high around 16 percent. Amid the data point and ahead of
the quarterly print, the firm reiterated a Conviction Buy on
Starbucks shares. Goldman said the company is sitting at "a key
inflection point with emerging markets and single-serve products
driving a new multi-year period of growth."
The firm is modeling for quarterly earnings of 41 cents per
share, "driven by our forecast for 10% US SSS (vs. 8%
consensus)." Goldman said to anticipate raised FY12 guidance.
- Deutsche Bank sees EPS of 39 cents on sales of $3.18 billion.
The firm said it will be looking for: an update on FY13 coffee
contracts, more color on EMEA margin improvement initiatives,
more detail on new single-serve platform, Verismo, updated sales
trends and market share for K-Cups, and updates on sales-driving
initiatives like remodels, Blonde, the alcohol test, and energy
drinks.
The firm maintains a Buy rating and $61 target on the stock.
Stay tuned to our
Earnings
category to get the Starbucks' results within seconds of the
official release.