The American coffee store chain, Starbucks, revealed that its sales declined by 7% during the period between July and September 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year, in light of boycott campaigns targeting international companies that support Israel due to the genocidal war it recently launched in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
On Wednesday, Starbucks issued its financial statements for the fourth quarter of the current year, which begins in early July and ends on September 29, according to its own calendar.
The cafe company’s profits fell to $909.3 million in its last quarter from $1.21 billion achieved in the corresponding quarter of last year.
Sales at Starbucks stores in North America and the United States fell by 6%, while in international markets they fell by 9%.
The café company’s sales in China saw a decline of 14% according to the same data.
Starbucks’ July-September revenue was about $9.1 billion, a 3% year-over-year decline.
The company’s earnings per share also decreased by 25% compared to the same period last year, reaching 80 cents.
The company’s revenues and profits fell below market expectations.
The company’s revenues during this period amounted to $36.2 billion, recording an increase of 1%.
In statements about the financial data, Starbucks CEO Brian Nicol indicated the need to radically change their strategies to win back customers.
“We have a clear plan and are moving quickly to get Starbucks back on the growth path,” he said.
The Starbucks chain of stores was negatively affected in the first nine months of this year as a result of protests and boycott campaigns targeting international companies that support Israel due to the genocidal war on Gaza.
The genocide committed by Israel, with American support, in Gaza resulted in more than 144,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing persons, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.
Americana
In the context of the boycott, Americana Restaurants Company’s profits declined by 48.2% during the first nine months of this year, amid a boycott taking place in markets in the region against brands accused of supporting Israel.
Americana Restaurants Company is a franchisee of international chains, most notably Pizza Hut and KFC, and is listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange.
The company stated in a disclosure – today, Thursday – that during the first nine months of the current year, its net profits decreased by 48.2% to 440.18 million riyals ($117.4 million).
Americana Restaurants’ net profits in the corresponding period last year amounted to 850.11 million riyals ($226.7 million).
The company said in a disclosure to the Saudi Stock Exchange that the decrease in net profits came as a result of the decline in sales due to the geopolitical situation, the increase in depreciation fees, and the application of corporate tax in the UAE.
Americana Restaurants operates international brands such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, or what is known as “KFC”, Pizza Hut, Hardee’s, Krispy Kreme and TGI Fridays, which are brands that are mostly boycotted in the Middle East due to accusations of supporting Israel, or are partially owned by companies accused of supporting Israel, which Commit crimes against humanity.
In the third quarter ending last September, the company’s profits fell by 54.32% to 140.3 million riyals ($37.3 million) from 307.2 million riyals ($81.8 million).
The decline was mainly due to a decline in sales during this quarter, as a result of the ongoing geopolitical situation in the region. This situation was exacerbated by the slowdown in consumer demand in some markets.
