SBUX Starbucks Corporation

By Colin Kellaher

Starbucks Corp. on Wednesday said it has the financial strength and resilience to manage through the coronavirus pandemic, and the coffee chain expanded its stock buyback plan.

The Seattle company said its board authorized the repurchase of up to 40 million shares. The new buyback is in addition to the roughly 16 million shares remaining under an existing authorization.

Starbucks, with 1.17 billion shares outstanding, sports a market capitalization of about $68.8 billion based on Tuesday's closing price of $58.98.

The company said the expanded buyback "reflects our confidence and optimism about the long-term growth opportunity for our business."

Starbucks, which has shifted to a "to-go" model across the U.S. and Canada for at least two weeks to help combat the spread of the coronavirus, is holding its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday.

The company said Starbucks Delivers, its partnership with Uber Eats, will reach national availability by the end of April, making it available in the 48 states where both companies operate.

Starbucks also noted that 90% of its stores in China, where the coronavirus first hit, are now open.

Shares of Starbucks fell about 5.4% in premarket trading Wednesday.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 18, 2020 09:40 ET (13:40 GMT)

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