Here comes Starbucks...

Associated Press/Richard Drew

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson presents during the Starbucks 2016 Investor Day meeting, in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016.

• Starbucks is set to report first-quarter earnings after Thursday's closing bell.
• Ahead of the results, USB analyst Dennis Geiger noted two primary focuses for the coffee giant's earnings - whether its US sales momentum was maintained, and whether it could deliver strong China results amid fierce local competitions.
• Watch Starbucks trade live.

Starbucks is set to report first-quarter earnings after Thursday's closing bell. Here are what analysts are expecting, according to Bloomberg:

• Adjusted earnings per share: $0.65
• Revenue: $6.49 billion

Starbucks shares were down 1.72% Thursday as investors positioned themselves for the results. USB analyst Dennis Geiger noted two primary focuses for the coffee giant's earnings - whether its US comparable sales momentum was maintained following last quarter's 4% growth, and whether it can deliver strong China results amid fierce local competitions.

With over 14,000 US stores and 29,000 stores worldwide, Starbucks has long dominated the coffee market. On Tuesday, the company said it is teaming up with Uber Eats to deliver coffee in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, in an effort to strengthen loyalty among its American consumers.

But the Starbuck brand's dominant status in China is being challenged by a local coffee startup - Luckin. The two-year-old Chinese coffee startup has opened over 2,000 locations in the last year and recently said it is aiming to open a total of over 4,500 stores by the end of 2019 as it aims to overtake Starbucks as the largest coffee chain by number of outlets in the world's second-biggest economy.

"We model 4% F1Q Americas sss vs. Consensus 3.3%, incl 4% ticket & flat traffic," said Geiger in a note out on Tuesday.

"China expectations are lower following LT guidance for 1-3% sss, & we model 1% CAP (China-Asia Pacific) segment sss given recent headwinds. With shares up ~30% since June, investor sentiment has turned more negative. We believe shares have greater upside if the US can deliver 3-4% sss, China comps stay positive, & EPS can exceed +10% LT & position SBUX as still one of highest quality growth companies in large-cap consumer."

Geiger has a "buy" rating and $72 price target - 10% above where shares were trading on Thursday.

Starbucks was up 7% in the past year.

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