What You Need To Know Ahead of Starbucks Earnings

Key Takeaways

• Starbucks reports fourth-quarter earnings after the market closes Wednesday, a week after it posted disappointing preliminary results and suspended its fiscal 2025 outlook.
• The company said suspending guidance would give it time to evaluate its business under new CEO Brian Niccol.
• Wednesday's report will be Niccol's first at the helm of the coffee giant since leaving Chipotle.

Starbucks (SBUX) will report fourth-quarter earnings after the bell Wednesday, a week after the company released preliminary results that missed analysts' expectations and said it would not provide projections for fiscal 2025 to allow for a transition period for its new CEO.

Analysts expect Starbucks to report a more than 15% year-over-year net income drop to $1.03 billion, or 91 cents per share, on $9.22 billion in revenue, down from $9.37 billion. The coffee giant recently reported preliminary results of 80 cents in earnings per share (EPS) on revenue of $9.07 billion, both of which came in below consensus estimates of analysts polled by Visible Alpha and sent shares tumbling.

Starbucks also suspended its outlook for fiscal 2025, citing the CEO change, with former Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) head Brian Niccol having taken over the top job last month. The company said suspending its outlook would provide "ample opportunity" to reevaluate its business. It also announced an increase of its quarterly dividend to 61 cents per share from 57 cents.