Starbucks Corp. posted sales that beat estimates as U.S. and China transactions increased. But that wasn’t enough to satisfy investors following a 15 per cent run-up in the stock price this year.

Shares further slid after Chief Executive Officer Laxman Narasimhan, who took over March 20 from longtime leader Howard Schultz, said the coffee chain is reaffirming its guidance for the full year. Wall Street had been hoping for a boost amid the strong quarterly performance. 

Comparable sales rose 11 per cent in the quarter ended April 2, while analysts had projected a 7.3 per cent gain, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sales by that measure also surpassed estimates in both key growth markets of the U.S. and China. 

The results underscore consumers’ resilience as they continue paying higher menu prices for discretionary items like oatmilk lattes. They also further reinforce that dining out is back: Last week, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and McDonald’s Corp. also posted sales that topped Wall Street expectations. 

Starbucks said transactions grew 6 per cent in the U.S. and also rose in China. Traffic in U.S., company-operated stores also surpassed pre-pandemic levels in the quarter during the busiest parts of the day, executives said. 

The shares slumped 5.2 per cent at 5:45 p.m. in late trading in New York. Their year-to-date gain is more than double that of the S&P 500 Index. 

Operating margin was 14.3 per cent, surpassing the average estimate from analysts. In North America, profitability was helped by higher prices and the lapping of pandemic-related pay a year earlier, among other factors.