SBUX: "We're Playing the Long Game"

Starbucks Q2 2022 (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Starbucks SBUX 0.00%↑ continues to demonstrate a robust recovery in its domestic territory, with International (Ex-China) playing catch up. The focal point of Q2 earnings, however, was the temporal deterioration of the China business. Plagued so badly by zero-covid policy closures, the contagion from the China arm of the business resulted in Starbucks withdrawing guidance for the remainder of the year. But fear not, the prodigal son has returned for a third stint as CEO. Schultz has long been a catalyst for the Starbucks China expansion, expressing his desire for 5,000 stores in the region by 2021 as far back as 2015, when there were fewer than 1,500 stores. Reaffirming that he believes China’s dismal performance is transitory he would go so far as to suggest he is "convinced Starbucks' business in China will be eventually larger than our business in the U.S."

If we imagine Starbucks is a pizza for a moment, with the thick doughy base being the core business. Sat atop of that base, are toppings …