NEW YORK -- Starbucks said its profit rose 16 per cent during the first three months of the year, helped by positive sales around the world.
Still, the sales growth fell short of Wall Street's expectations and the company's stock fell 5 per cent to $57.58 in after-hours trading.
The Seattle-based coffee chain said global comparable sales rose 6 per cent for the period ended March 27. That reflected a 7 per cent increase in its flagship U.S. market, where the company is trying to sign up more people for its mobile app, which tends to lead to people visiting more often.
Starbucks is also trying to push food like breakfast sandwiches and salad boxes for lunch that help draw customers in the slower parts of the day.
For the first time, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Kevin Johnson said food surpassed more than 20 per cent of sales in the U.S.
Sales rose 3 per cent at established locations in Asia. Sales for the unit including Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose 1 per cent.
Total revenue, which factors in new store openings, rose 9 per cent to $4.99 billion. That was short of the $5.03 billion analysts expected, according to FactSet.
For the quarter, Starbucks Corp. earned $575.1 million, or 39 cents per share, in line with expectations.
A year ago, it earned $494.9 million, or 33 cents per share.
The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2016 financial targets and said its board authorized the repurchase of another 100 million shares of stock, raising the total number of shares available for buybacks to 125 million.
