Wall Street sees Starbucks comeback taking hold, even after another lackluster quarter

Blue | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesWall Street is seeing early signs that Starbucks' turnaround is taking hold, despite a quarterly earnings miss and another quarter of shrinking same-store sales."The focus for Starbucks' third fiscal quarter was less on the results (which were below Street expectations) and more on of points on the pace of the potential recovery ahead," William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia wrote in a note to clients Wednesday.The company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter on Tuesday evening

Its same-store sales fell for the sixth straight quarter, but executives told analysts on the company's earnings call that traffic imved sequentially every month of the quarter.Another mising sign came in traffic growth from non-Starbucks Rewards members

For several years, the number of Starbucks customers who don't belong to its loyalty gram has fallen, making the cohort the primary culprit for the chain's recent sluggish sales.RBC Capital analyst Logan Reich entitled his Wednesday re note the company's results "green shoots getting greener." He pointed to CEO Brian Niccol's s that the turnaround is ahead of schedule, the accelerated rollout of its new "Green An Service" labor gram and mobile app changes, among other factors.The labor changes aim to create a more welcoming environment in cafes while ensuring fast service.Starbucks also teased new items coming in fiscal 2026, including tein cold foam and imved food options

Cowen analyst Andrew Charles wrote in a re note on Wednesday that he has greater confidence that Starbucks' same-store sales will continue to imve due to the company's "more aggressive innovation agenda."But while many analysts presented a bullish case for the company's turnaround, not all investors are sold on Niccol and his "Back to Starbucks" strategy