The company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz tried to strike a cup half-full mentality with investors Monday night, saying he had “a renewed sense of optimism” and added that the fourth quarter “may have represented a bottoming-out milestone for our company.” “I am confident we are on the correct course for these challenging times,” he said. “Starbucks can and will weather the current economic storm.”

Many observers, though, don’t see that storm letting up. With consumer confidence dismal, spending on discretionary items — like US$4 lattes — has slowed and the prospect of a prolonged recession has sparked even more fear. “We find nothing at all in results to suggest that a bottom is at hand,” said Deutsche Bank North America analyst Marc Greenberg in a note to investors. “On all meaningful indicators, performance is only weakening further.”

And if the economy worsens more than the company expects, “then Starbucks hasn’t hit a bottom,” said Morningstar analyst John Owens.

“I think the company has positioned itself to deliver better results in 2009 but they’re still at the mercy of the macroeconomic environment,” he said.

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