Source: Wikimedia commons. Sean's take There's not much to say about Starbucks that its first-quarter earnings report in January didn't already spell out for investors. China is a hot spot of growth, with the China/Asia Pacific region delivering 28% revenue growth, while global same-store sales throughout the remainder of the company remain strong — up 6%, thanks to incredible branding, increase traffic, solid pricing power, and a knack for staying ahead of the innovative curve. Earlier this week, I broke down Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)' outperformance into three rudimentary building blocks. I saw the company first as an innovator that remodeled and refreshed its stores to make them more inviting and reworked its food line to appeal to healthier eaters. Next, I envisioned Starbucks as an emulator that saw a concept from another vendor and ran with it.