At Starbucks, "business as usual" seems to make an unwelcome return.

Or is it time to ditch this loftily priced stock?

Starbucks (SBUX) achieved a trifecta of positive earnings news on Wednesday after the close; it beat EPS estimates, topped sales estimates, and raised earnings guidance for the coming year.  Earnings per share came in at $.32, four cents better than consensus analysts’ estimates and far better than a year ago when the company made just nine cents per share.[More...]

Plans to increase wholesome breakfast offerings in 2010

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As explained in our education section, short interest is a useful sentiment indicator that measures the level of investor pessimism toward a stock...(Read More)

DailyFinance: It's popular, among the upstart coffee companies and the media which covers them, to portray anything that happens in the coffee world as an affront to Starbucks. And certainly, little is done in the industry without an ever-present consciousness of ... Read more

Gourmet coffeehouse takes handcrafted beverages to a new level with premium Guittard

It’s been quite some time since I remember opening up a Starbucks (SBUX) quarterly report with a smile. Thankfully last week’s fourth-quarter results finally helped me regain some of my faith as a shareholder in the coffee giant. Clearly on a mission to clean house and get his business back in order Howard Schulz led his Starbucks team through major cost-cutting initiatives. The closing of over 800 inefficient and unnecessary US locations has nearly come to a close. Technological advances in daily operations were implemented. And brand loyalty is making a comeback. The focal points of the quarter were ...

Investors loved Starbucks' rich quarter. Should you refill your cup?

The coffee king will provide a window into the consumer’s mind when it announces earnings later today. Analysts expect Starbucks (SBUX) to report fourth-quarter earnings of about $0.2 per share on revenue of $2.4 billion compared with earnings of a penny per share on revenue of $2.5 billion for the same period a year ago. The expected higher earnings are attributed to the company’s decision to cut prices on easy-to-make beverages while boosting prices on more complicated drinks. Look for same-store sales to show improvement as the recession eases and the company’s cost-cutting efforts to begin to pay off. ...