What happened
Shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) climbed on Wednesday, surging as much as 6.4%. As of 10:50 a.m. ET today, the stock was still up 5.9%.
At the company's investor day on Tuesday, it offered a surprisingly strong forecast for what it can achieve over the coming several years. In the wake of this update, some of Wall Street's finest issued an upgrade and multiple price target increases.
So what
Starbucks hosted its biennial investor day yesterday, unveiling its road map for the near future, and the company's three-year forecast was decidedly bullish.
Management laid out its Reinvention plan, designed to "accelerate the company's long-term growth, progressively expand operating margin, and drive high-teens non-GAAP EPS [earnings per share] growth annually through fiscal 2025."
Starbucks is guiding for comparable-store sales growth across the globe in a range of 7% to 9% annually. This is a marked increase from its previous range of 4% to 5% growth. The company expects China's performance to be more pronounced as it "laps the severe impact of COVID-related lockdowns," eventually settling into a range of 4% to 6% by 2025. This is also much higher than the previous outlook of 2% to 4% growth for China.
The company plans to accelerate expansion, with its store count growing by roughly 7% annually, up from its previous forecast of 6%, driven by unit growth of 3% to 4% domestically and 13% in China.
These moves combined are expected to fuel revenue growth of 10% to 12% annually, up from its previous forecast for 8% to 10% growth.
Now what
Analysts reacted positively to the plan. Fubon analyst Satine Lin upgraded Starbucks to buy from neutral (hold) while issuing a price target of $103, representing potential gains for investors of 17% compared to Tuesday's closing price.
At the same time, at least four analysts raised their price targets. Barclays analyst Jeffrey Bernstein seemed to capture the prevailing mood, saying the guidance "surprisingly reflects an acceleration on all key growth metrics," calling it a "new era of outsized growth" for Starbucks.
Given the more bullish outlook and increased growth prospects, Starbucks stock continues to be a buy.
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Danny Vena has positions in Starbucks. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Starbucks. The Motley Fool recommends Barclays and recommends the following options: short October 2022 $85 calls on Starbucks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
