On January 26th, Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) reported on financial results for the first quarter of Fiscal 2021 ending December 27th 2020.  For the period, net earnings attained $622 million on revenue of $6.75 billion with an EPS of $0.53.  For the comparative quarter ending December 29th 2019, net earnings were $885.7 million on revenue of $7.09 billion with an EPS of $0.74.

U.S. stores posted a decline of six percent compared to a six percent rise in the corresponding quarter in 2019.  International segment comparable store sales declined by three percent compared to a one percent rise in the first quarter of 2019.  There are now 18,308 stores in the U.S. and 14,630 stores in the international segment. 

In commenting on results, Kevin Johnson, president and CEO, stated “I am very pleased with our start to Fiscal 2021 with meaningful, sequential improvements in quarterly financial results despite ongoing business disruption from the pandemic.”  He added, “we remain optimistic about our robust operating outlook for Fiscal 2021 as well as our ability to unlock the full potential of Starbucks to create value for our stakeholders.”

Starbucks has a market capitalization of $115.5 billion and has traded over the past 52 weeks in a range of $50.02 to $107.75.  SBUX closed at $104.77 prior to release of Q1 results, but fell on Wednesday, January 27th to close at $98.15.  SBUX trades with a forward P/E of 36.2.  Trailing 12 month operating margin was 5.8 percent and profit margin 2.9 percent.  The company returned 2.9 percent on assets.