Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX ) gave investors some caffeinated good news to savor with its fiscal fourth-quarter results.
Net income jumped 85.9%, to $278.9 million, or $0.37 per share. Revenue surged 17.2%, to $2.8 billion. Even better, Starbucks can boast that customer traffic's booming. Same-store sales increased 8%, driven by a 5% increase in traffic and a 2% increase in average ticket. In short, boosted prices weren't the only reason comps started boiling.
Starbucks faces copious cups of competition from the likes of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR ) , Peet's (Nasdaq: PEET ) , Caribou (Nasdaq: CBOU ) , and fast-food giant McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) , which recently reported success with its McCafe offerings.
However, such formidable and widespread rivalry's not stopping Starbucks, as it turns its business around and lures customers back into its ubiquitous cafes. CEO Howard Schultz highlighted Starbucks' VIA Ready Brew and its emerging Seattle's Best Coffee as key drivers in its caffeinated quarter.
Investors bid up shares of Starbucks on the good news, although an interesting story's circulating through the news wires concerning Starbucks' grocery-store distribution agreement with Kraft (NYSE: KFT ) . Starbucks said it's mulling an end to that arrangement; Kraft's firing back that if it does, Starbucks will have to pay up.
Any skirmish with Kraft will be interesting to watch, but for now, Starbucks shareholders can feel assured that the coffee giant has gotten its java buzz back after years of malaise. Getting customers back in the door for their caffeine fixes is exactly what the company needed. Of course, it's hard to say that Starbucks looks particularly cheap at the moment, trading at 25 times earnings.
Do you think it's a good time to buy Starbucks, or will you wait for a pullback? Does the Kraft issue sound like a bad situation brewing? Sound off in the comment box below.
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