On The Fly: What to watch in Starbucks earnings report

Starbucks (SBUX) is scheduled to report results of its fiscal second quarter after the market close on Thursday, April 26, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 pm ET. What to watch for: 1. GUIDANCE: When Starbucks reported first quarter earnings on January 25, it raised its fiscal 2018 earnings guidance. The company raised its FY18 adjusted EPS view to $2.48-$2.53 from $2.30-$2.33 against a consensus at the time of $2.39. It also backed its view of high single digit revenue growth in FY18 and backed its FY18 global SSS growth view of 3%-5%. Starbucks added that it still expected to open 2,300 net new stores globally in FY18. 2. ARRESTS IN PHILLY STARBUCKS: On April 12, two black men were arrested in a Starbucks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for suspicion of trespassing, as they did not purchase any items at the store and refused when they were asked to leave the store. The incident was recorded and quickly went viral, leading to the hashtag #BoycottStarbucks trending on Twitter. Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson put out a statement after the incident calling it a "disheartening situation... that led to a reprehensible outcome." 3. STARBUCKS CLOSING ON MAY 29: In reaction to the arrest incident, Starbucks announced it will be closing its more than 8,000 company-owned stores in the U.S. on the afternoon of May 29 to conduct racial-bias education geared toward preventing discrimination in its stores. The training will be provided to nearly 175,000 partners across the country, and will become part of the onboarding process for new partners. 4. CRYSTAL BALL FRAPPUCCINO DISAPPOINTS: Stifel analyst Chris O'Cull said his social media analysis leads him to believe that Starbucks' limited-time-offer frappuccino promotion, the Crystal Ball Frappuccino, which ran from March 22-March 26, had less of an impact than previous frappuccino limited time offers. Frappuccino "spark" promotions appear to be losing some of their appeal and O'Cull is encouraged by the company's plan to revamp its approach to beverage innovation, saying that he expects to see changes soon. "The chilly reception of the Crystal Ball demonstrates the need for the company to revamp the Frappuccino happy-hour promotion," the Stifel analyst wrote. He maintained a Hold rating on Starbucks shares.