Starbucks cut its annual sales forecast on Tuesday in the latest sign that boycotts over businesses' perceived support for different actors in the Israel-Hamas war are taking a toll on corporate balance sheets. Oil and gas major Chevron also faced new global boycott calls relating to the company's work with Israel this week.
On a post-earnings call, the world’s largest coffee chain also warned that dampened demand in January and slow economic recovery in China from the COVID-19 pandemic would likely hurt its second-quarter financial results.
Full year comparable sales — both globally and in the United States — are now expected to grow 4-6%, down from 5-7%.
During the call, CEO Laxman Narasimhan said Starbucks, which operates more than 2,000 stores across 13 MENA markets, saw “a significant impact on traffic and sales” in the Middle East due to the conflict, Reuters reported.
