Starbucks Corp. says more customers visited its stores worldwide, helping it deliver major sales gains for its fiscal fourth quarter.
The Seattle-based coffee giant earned US$652.5 million, or 43 cents, for the quarter ended Sept. 27, meeting analyst forecasts according to FactSet.
Revenue jumped nearly 18 per cent to $4.91 billion, just ahead of market forecasts of $4.9 billion.
For the current quarter ending in January, Starbucks expects its per-share earnings to range from 44 cents to 45 cents. The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $1.87 to $1.89 per share.
Starbucks shares have increased 52 per cent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen slightly more than 1 per cent. In late trading, the stock declined 2.5 per cent to $60.95.
