Starbucks has reported its first U.S. sales growth in two years, with comparable North America sales up 4% in the first quarter, driven by chief executive Brian Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” strategy – although operating margins fell 290bps due to past tariffs and store investments. Revenues in the three months to December 28th rose 6% to $9.92bn, with both global and U.S. like-for-like sales increasing 4%. Net income totalled $293.3m, or 56 cents per share adjusted, down from $780.8m a year eerlier. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected revenues of $9.67bn and adjusted per-share earnings of 59 cents.
