Paper cup half empty: Coronavirus hits Starbucks sales

Starbucks Coffee Company says coronavirus has cost it up to $430 million so far. That's the company’s estimate of its lost sales in China.

The Seattle-based company says that could be just the beginning.

In a letter to shareholders and a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Starbucks said sales at its coffee shops in China fell by half in February.

And it said that though its China operations are starting to recover, businesses in Japan, South Korea, and Italy are now being impacted.

Starbucks warned it cannot accurately estimate the damage being done, though it said its U.S. business is doing fine for now.

The company is suspending earnings guidance past the second quarter of the year. More information is expected when the company reports earnings on April 28.