Starbucks ends its fiscal year on a high note

Starbucks Corp. is feeling its oats.



The coffee giant topped estimates for its fourth quarter and gave a positive view for its current fiscal year.



Starbucks’ consolidated net revenue grew 16% to $5.8 billion in its fourth quarter, which was better than expected.



Net earnings for the quarter were $801 million, up 22.8% over the year-ago period, and resulted in earnings of 54 cents per share. Excluding special items, the coffee giant posted 56 cents in earnings per share, which beat the Street by a penny.



Starbucks’ U.S. same-store rose 4%, partially fueled by a 6% increase in average ticket (traffic declined by 1%). Mobile order and pay represented 6% of U.S. transactions in the quarter, up from 5% in the prior quarter.



Globally, Starbucks’ same-store sales rose 4% during the quarter. Sale rose 6% in China, which ranked as the strongest geographic area for the chain. (Starbucks recently announced plans to expand aggressively in China.



"Starbucks Q4 of fiscal 2016 was the most profitable quarter -- capping off the most profitable year -- in our more than 24 years as a public company," said Scott Maw, CFO. "The strength and health of our business enables us to both fund profitable growth and return significant cash back to shareholders -- a record $3.2 billion in fiscal 2016 alone."



The company opened 690 net new stores in the quarter, bringing total stores to 25,085 in 75 countries worldwide.



For the full year, Starbucks reported $21.3 billion in revenue, up 11.2% over the year-ago period. Net earnings totaled $2.8 billion, up 2.2% year-over-year.



For its current year, Starbucks said expects to earn $2.12 to $2.14 a share with revenue increasing in the double digits and comparable sales improving in the mid-single digits. Analysts project $1.89 a share of earnings, with revenue increasing 8.4% and comparable sales increasing 5.3%.