Starbucks has suffered a second straight quarterly drop in sales, underlining the pressures on a leadership team already contending with an activist shareholder and scrutiny from its charismatic former boss.
The world’s largest coffee chain cited a “cautious consumer environment” as it reported a 3 per cent fall in its global comparable sales for the three months to June, following a 4 per cent decline in its previous quarter. Analysts had expected the measure of how cafés open for at least 13 months are performing to show a fall of about 2.4 per cent.
The disappointing third-quarter results come as Starbucks negotiates with activist Elliott Investment Management, which has been seeking changes at the $85bn company, including possible board representation.