Free Republic

A morning rush is nothing new for a coffee shop, especially not Starbucks. However, the global coffee chain recently found that its struggle to keep up with demand is leading some customers to second-guess purchasing their morning coffee. Starbucks just announced its financial earnings for the second quarter of 2024. Overall, its leadership was upfront in saying that the second quarter of 2024 was not a successful one for the business as a whole. The chain’s U.S. same-store sales declined 3%, and sales outside of North America decreased 6%. “Let me be clear,” Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan said on the...

Economy, other factors have put pressure on consumers People seem to be buying less food from quick-service restaurants (QSR). That appears to be the case after companies such as Yum! Brands, Starbucks and McDonald’s offered their latest quarterly updates on their businesses. In the first quarter, the corporate parent of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut said its overall same-store sales narrowed by 3%, which was "expected," said Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs in the company’s press release Wednesday. CFO Chris Turner told analysts and investors who tuned into the earnings call that Yum! Brands had expected the first quarter...