AP Business Writer
It’s been a disappointing start to Pumpkin Spice Latte season for Starbucks. The Seattle coffee giant on Tuesday reported weaker-than-expected sales in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 29. It also said it would suspend financial guidance for its 2025 fiscal year to give its new Chairman and CEO, Brian Niccol, time to assess the business. The results were preliminary. Starbucks plans to release full results for the July-September period and to host a conference call with investors on Oct. 30. Starbucks said its fourth-quarter revenue fell 3% as it saw weaker customer traffic in the U.S., China and elsewhere. Niccol, a former Chipotle CEO, says Starbucks’ problems are “very fixable.”
