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.
The global bottled water industry is booming, and it's coming at a steep environmental cost, according to the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health.
Sanofi has announced that it will lower the list price of its insulin drug, Lantus, by 78 percent and will set a $35 cap on out-of-pocket costs for all patients.
Eleven of the biggest U.S. banks Thursday announced a $30 billion rescue package for First Republic Bank in an effort to prevent it from becoming the third to fail in less than a week and head off a broader banking crisis.
A total of 33 states and the District of Columbia now allow at least some form of sports wagering, but the prospects are mixed for expanding sports betting to additional states this year.
Neel Shah and Caitlin Kelly describe how their company EZ Newswire fared following Silicon Valley Bank's stunning collapse as other banks are feared to be in similar precarious states.
