Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) released its earnings report for the September quarter of 2013 this afternoon after the market closed on Wall Street. The company showed earnings per share of 63 cents for the three month period on revenue totaling $3.8 billion. On today’s market, stock in the coffee seller trended up and finished the day trading at $80.81 per share.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) benefited from record lows in coffee prices during the September quarter, and felt some of the effects of an anemic recovery in the United States. The company’s launch of its own food and drink offerings were also materially important in the three month period.
Starbucks earnings
Expectations were high heading into this report. The 28 Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were looking for earnings per share of 59 cents from the company. In the same three months of 2012 the company earned just 46 cents per share.
Revenue for the three months through September, which Starbucks records as its fourth quarter, were expected to come in at $3.8 billion, up from $3.4 billion in the same quarter of 2012. Starbucks Corporation is increasing revenue and earnings by diversifying its business. The company has moved into offering its own food in its cafes, while at the same time selling branded coffee makers in supermarkets.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) has made excellent strides in its expansion, and the company has grown impressively for a consumer facing concern in a poor economy. Investors have been optimistic about the firm throughout 2013, and that has resulted in an uncomfortably high value on the firm’s shares.
Starbucks performance
Starbucks shares have gained close to 50% since 2013 began. The company’s stock is now trading at more than 38 times earnings. Growth in the price of shares has been reasonably even, though the company’s last earnings report was judged good enough to warrant a large boost in the price of the stock.
The valuation of the company means that investors are expecting it to grow by a good margin in both the coming quarters and the coming years. That might leave the stock volatile in the face of a poor earnings report. Starbucks Corporation 9NASDAQ:SBUX) executives will host a conference call to discuss these earnings at 5 PM EDT. Investors and analysts will be looking to hear about the company’s guidance for next year, and any strategy executives are willing to share.
