Your Starbucks wait might feel shorter. CEO Brian Niccol explains why.

This quarter over quarter improvement in the US same store sales business. Like what was the biggest unlock compared to when we were just talking to you three months ago?

It isn't just one thing that drove the performance. It really is a culmination of work that we've been doing over the last 18 months.

You know, we said we wanted to get back to providing great service. We said we wanted to get back to, you know, having great menu and marketing. We said we wanted to get back to having a great coffee house. and all those things have been working together. and you know, you're finally seeing it all come together and I think they compound on each other really nicely.

And so, you know, I'm I'm just really excited about the fact that transactions drove that 7.1% comp, which just simply means more people are coming into Starbucks and the brand is probably stronger than it has been in a long time and that that just really sets us up for a a great way to grow from here.

I sense you may have made really good progress on speeding up these lines. uh, Brian. Like where are you at in your goal? Because I I actually happen to think that line speed plus all this customization you could do in the app.

I mean I just bought a drink the other day that was $11, Brian. I I'll send you my order offline. I mean all this happened. But like I I think there are some unlock here.

Well, I I might name that drink the Sozi, though.

Oh, I think you should.

I think you should. Get it to Tressy Lieberman. I want to see this on a billboard, Brian. Um, but look, I think this is a big unlock uh for you guys. Like how fast are these lines getting and where else do you want to go?

Yeah, look, we're making tremendous progress. We've got over 80% of our coffee houses now hitting the four-minute uh target and uh you know, we're going to make even better progress on that as we roll out scheduled ordering uh in the mobile order uh access point.

But it's it's a really simple proposition. If you come into the cafe, we'll get you your drink in less than four minutes, drive through less than four minutes, and on mobile order pickup, we're going to be on time and accurate and those promised times should be less than 12 minutes. And most of the time, it's around 7 or 8.

So, the good news is we've made tremendous progress on throughput and hitting these time metrics. and then what we're also doing is we're setting our teams up with process and equipment so that they can continue to build on that great throughput. You know, we'll be in short order rolling out a new Mastrena, which is our espresso machine where you'll be able to get four espresso shots in like less than 30 seconds, which today that takes closer to like 80 seconds.

So, we're going to try and set our teams up to be successful to meeting the customer with the customization that they want, and then obviously the speed that they want, and then ultimately in the environment that they want.

How are you doing this in an environment where we're seeing $4 gas prices, now at 422 is the national average here in the US. It just seems like consumers are pulling back but yet they're going for this little luxury as you call it at Starbucks.

I think that's exactly right, Brooke. This is a little luxury that uh really does resonate across all income cohorts. And so, you know, if you're on the lower side of the income scale, uh the good news is you feel like this is something that you can splurge on. We make it worth your while uh for your hard earned dollar. And you know, look, I think in general, no matter where you are on the income scale, it's your hard earned dollar. You want a great experience for the dollars that you're spending. We're doing everything we can to support our partners to ensure they can be the world's greatest customer service experience every single time you come into your Starbucks.