Starbucks’ strong US holiday season offset by China slump

By DEE-ANN DURBIN
AP Business Writer

Starbucks had a strong holiday season in the U.S. but weaker sales in China as its ended the second year of the pandemic. U.S. same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, were up 18% over the October-December period a year ago. The Seattle-based coffee giant said more U.S. customers were visiting and spending more per visit. But same-store sales in China fell 14%, partly due to continuing lockdowns in some areas. Starbucks’ revenue rose 19% to $8.1 billion in its fiscal first quarter. That was ahead of Wall Street’s forecast.