The good news for a struggling Starbucks: The recent economic slump hasn't quashed Americans' tastes for gourmet coffee.
From Pete's Coffee to McDonald's (nyse: MCD - news - people ) to Dunkin' Donuts, the market's awash in successful imitators, despite the downturn. Grocery store sales of premium coffee beans are growing at double-digit rates annually.
"No one wants Folgers," says industry analyst Steve West of Stifel, Nicholas, citing an entire young generation of professionals for whom upscale coffee has become the standard.
The bad news: Fewer people want it from Starbucks (nasdaq: SBUX - news - people ). The company announced Monday that fourth-quarter profit plummeted to a penny a share from 21 cents a year earlier, with same-store sales slipping 8% in the U.S. Aside from costs associated with store closings, profit was 10 cents a share, below estimates and less than half of last year's result.
The announcement came just hours after
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