Starbucks (SBUX) second quarter earnings preview

The company has already warned Wall Street that it could be a weak quarter, with consumers cutting back spending in reaction to the slowing economy and rising fuel costs.

The only bright side is that since everyone is expecting the company to show weak earnings, even if the news is bad, the stock could be OK. Most analysts have already been bracing for bad news, so most of the bad news has already been priced into the stock.

Larry Miller, from RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a letter to his clients that the company will probably be reporting same store sales falling in the mid-single digits, making it the worst quarter ever for the company in this regard. He went on to say that he expects the company to have more setbacks in the future as it continues to try to turn around the business.

It has been a pretty tough year for the stock. Shareholders have seen shares gradually fall over the past 12 months to its current price, which is roughly 50% lower than this time last year. For a better idea of just how hard the stock has been hit, let's take a look at a current chart on the stock. As you can see, the stock could really use some good news tomorrow.

The quarterly numbers will be out after the market closes tomorrow, and we will post the earnings results as soon as they are available.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.