Starbucks reports stronger than expected quarterly sales as turnaround gains traction

Starbucks said Tuesday that customers are responding to improved service in its stores, which saw better-than-expected sales in the company's fiscal second quarter.

The Seattle coffee giant said global same-store sales for the January-March period rose 6.2%. That was higher than the 4% increase Wall Street was anticipating, according to analysts polled by FactSet. In the U.S., same-store sales jumped 7%.

Over the last year, Starbucks has been adding employees to stores during rush times and using technology to better sequence its in-store and mobile orders. It has also encouraged friendlier service and is redesigning stores to give them a cozier, coffeehouse feel.

Starbucks has also gotten leaner, and vowed to plow those savings back into its turnaround. Last year, the company closed hundreds of stores in the U.S., Canada and Europe and laid off at least 2,000 non-retail employees.

In a video message to employees Tuesday, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol called the quarter "the turn in our turnaround."

"Put simply, more customers are getting back to Starbucks as we deliver the best of Starbucks more consistently," Niccol said.

Starbucks said its revenue rose 9% to $9.5 billion for the second quarter. That was also ahead of analysts' forecast of $9.2 billion.

Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned 50 cents per share. That also came in ahead of analysts' forecast of 43 cents.