DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer
It was a happy holiday at Starbucks, but the company's sales momentum could start to slow due to the coronavirus outbreak in China.
New drinks like the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew were a hit with customers, helping the Seattle-based coffee giant beat Wall Street's forecasts in the October-December period. Starbucks reaffirmed its 2020 profit guidance for now, but said it has already closed more than half of its stores in China.
Starbucks reported Tuesday that its earnings rose 16% to $886 million in its fiscal first quarter. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring items like restructuring charges, were 79 cents per share. That beat Wall Street's forecast of 76 cents.
Starbucks said same-store sales — or sales at stores open at least 13 months — jumped 5% worldwide in the October-December period, ahead of analysts' forecast of 4.4%. Revenue was up 7% to $7.1 billion, in line with analysts' forecasts.
Starbucks said 1.4 million U.S. customers joined its Starbucks Rewards loyalty program during the quarter. The company said demand for mobile ordering and payment is growing in the U.S.
Google settled an antitrust lawsuit, Tesla is reportedly raising pay, a group is suing Utah over its social media policies for kids and the founder of Nikola was sentenced to prison.
The White House is lending its support to an auto industry effort to standardize Tesla’s electric vehicle charging plugs for all EVs in the United States.
Some of America’s biggest retailers are working to increase their shipping speeds to please shoppers expecting faster and faster deliveries.
A group representing several big tech companies is suing Utah over state laws about children's social media use.
Google has agreed to pay $700 million to settle an anti-trust settlement.
Stocks were up after the closing bell as Wall Street continued to pin their hopes on rate cuts after last week's comments from the Fed.
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Google has agreed to pay $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it had been stifling competition against its Android app store — the same issue that went to trial in another case that could result in even bigger changes.
Nicki Minaj just reached a milestone that no other woman in rap has reached.
Apple announced that starting this week, it will stop selling some versions of the Apple watch in the U.S.
