Earnings

Starbucks beat on earnings, revenue is in line with estimates

Howard Schultz, chairman and former CEO of Starbucks
Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Starbucks reported quarterly earnings that beat analysts' expectations on Wednesday, but revenue came in line.

After the earnings announcement, the company's shares fell 3 percent in extended-hours trading. (Click here to get the latest quotes for the coffee retalier.)

Starbucks posted GAAP net income of $481.1 million, or 63 cents per share, from $359 million, or 46 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue increased 13 percent to $3.80 billion from $3.36 billion a year ago. Consolidated operating margin increased 2.2 percent 17.6 percent during the period..

Analysts had expected the company to report earnings of 60 cents a share on $3.81 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

"The fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 capped off by far the best year in Starbucks 42-year-history," said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and ceo of Starbucks Coffee Company.

The company said global comparable store sales for the 2013 fiscal year grew 7 percent, driven by a 5 percent increase in traffic. Growth in its Americas and the U.S. and China/Asia Pacific divisions was strongest.

The coffee chain reaffirmed its fiscal 2014 target of $2.55 to $2.65. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting $2.67 earnings per share for the upcoming year.