Starbucks looks to protein drinks and other new products to turn around lagging US sales next year

WASHINGTON — Starbucks said Tuesday it’s confident that new products coming next year — including a cold foam protein drink, coconut water-based beverages and improved baked goods — will help turn around the company’s lagging U.S. sales.

In the meantime, slow U.S. demand continues to be a drag on the company’s results.

Starbucks reported that its revenue rose 4% to $9.5 billion in its fiscal third quarter. That was better than the $9.3 billion Wall Street expected, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

But same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 2% in the April-June period. That was a bigger decline than Wall Street expected, and it was the sixth straight quarter that the Seattle-based company reported lower same-store sales.

Same-store sales were up in China, Starbucks’ second-largest market, but they fell 2% in the U.S.

Starbucks is spending heavily to turn that around. One big expense in the third quarter was a two-day meeting in Las Vegas, where the company hosted 14,000 store managers and regional leaders.

The company said its net income fell 47% to $558 million in the April-June period. Adjusted for one-time items, its earnings fell 46% to 50 cents per share for the quarter. That was lower than the 65 cents analysts had forecast.

Starbucks shares rose 1.8% in after-hours trading.

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