It’s a mixed bag in the markets today. The S&P 500 and The Dow are up, while the NASDAQ is down. Nonetheless, overall market sentiment is positively driven by positive news from Europe about a COVID-19 bailout and expectations of a COVID-19 vaccine. One of the stocks that is in the spotlight at the moment is Starbucks Corporation [NASDAQ:SBUX]. The company will release its Q3 earnings on July 28^th, and the expectation is that they will drop.  Consensus estimates put SBUX EPS loss at $0.60, or a year-over-year drop of 176.9%. Analysts also expect revenues to drop by 39% to $4.13 billion.

Besides the upcoming earnings, Starbucks Corporation [SBUX] has today announced that it is carrying out upgrades on it loyalty program. The Motley Fool has reported that SBUX is looking to leverage its wide data systems to give a better loyalty program.

Under the new program, members will have multiple ways to pay and earn stars that they can use to access beverages. One of the aspects of the loyalty program is that members of the program in the U.S and Canada will be in a position to pay for coffee using credits earned from debit cards and a number of mobile wallets. Another aspect of the program is that these payment methods will be accessible via the company’s app. All they need to do is scan the payment method they intend to use and also link the payment method to their personal account. Commenting on the new loyalty program, SBUX chief marketing officer said that, they expected the increase of payment methods will make the company attractive to a bigger audience.

Another factor that is making Starbucks an interesting stock to watch in the day is news of its expansion of digital services in the Chinese market.  The company continues to take steps that grow its market presence in China, and through the expanded digital services, customers in China can now make their orders through the various Alibaba Apps. Through the expanded digital program, the company’s customers can make pre-orders of any of its products. SBUX has been expanding its digital services aggressively and has delivered services in more than 3000 stores in over 100 Chinese cities. Through this service, revenues are likely to keep rising in the Chinese market and push up SBUX stock value.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation [SBUX] roasts markets, and retails specialty coffee, and operates an American and international division. It is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.