SBUX’s fiscal 1Q10 earnings came in at $0.33 per share, better than my $0.29 per share estimate and the street at $0.28 per share.
The company raised its full-year EPS guidance to 1.05-$1.08 (above the street at $1.02), or +31%-35% growth, up from its prior +15%-20% range. Despite the better than expected same-store sales growth of +4% in the U.S. and +4% internationally, SBUX maintained its prior guidance for modestly positive comparable store sales growth. The company did reiterate the higher end of its prior revenue guidance of mid-single digit growth. The biggest delta to the prior guidance comes from the company’s new outlook for 400 bps of margin growth in the U.S., up from its initial expectation of 200-250 bps of growth. SBUX maintained its expectation for 200-250 bps of margin improvement in the international segment, but reaffirmed the low end of its prior margin guidance for the CPG segment of 35%.
SBUX is now targeting $1 billion in free cash flow for the full year versus its prior outlook of $900 million. Part of this increase may stem from the company’s lowering its capital spending expectation to $500 million (from $500M-$550M); impressive, nonetheless.