Despite the sluggish economy, Americans apparently can’t live without their Starbucks. Its first quarter net income rose 10% on the strength of solid sales gains here at home. Starbucks is also breaking into consumer products, with healthy sales of its brand of single serve K-cups.
The Surprise: Starbucks modestly beat Wall Street expectations by 2%, earning $0.50 per share against a consensus view of $0.49.