A Starbucks patron scans the paper while enjoying a coffee and a baked good at a store in Seattle. The company reported that fourth-quarter profits rose by less than 2 percent, as U.S. customers lined up in smaller numbers for a second quarter in a row.

AP / Elaine Thompson

SEATTLE — The scent of bacon, cheese, ham and eggs will soon stop competing with the aroma of coffee in Starbucks stores as hot breakfast sandwiches become the first casualty of the company’s battle to win back customers.

The sandwiches, which will disappear by this fall, boost a typical store’s annual revenue by $35,000, so pulling them off the menu will cost at first.

Chairman and chief executive officer Howard Schultz said that proves the company isn’t letting the soft economy distract it from committing to big changes that will pay off over the long haul.

“The decision and the courage it takes to remove something when there’s pressure on the business — like the sandwiches — is emblematic that we’re going to build for the long term and get back to the roots and the core of our heritage, which is the leading roaster of specialty coffee in the world,” Schultz said Wednesday after the company released its financial results for the first fiscal quarter.

Starbucks Corp.’s profit rose by less than 2 percent, as U.S. customers grappling with a soft economy lined up in smaller numbers for a second quarter in a row.

Sales at stores open at least 13 months, a key measure of a retailer’s health, fell 1 percent in the U.S. as traffic declined 3 percent. Stronger growth overseas helped boost global comparable-store sales a modest 1 percent, compared with 6 percent in first quarter of last year.

For the 13 weeks ended Dec. 30, Starbucks posted net earnings of $208.1 million, or 28 cents per share, up from $205 million, or 26 cents a share, during the same period a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were predicting a profit of 27 cents per share.

Revenue for the quarter was $2.77 billion, in line with analysts’ estimate and up from $2.36 billion a year ago.

In early trading yesterday, Starbucks shares fell $1.07, or 5.5 percent, to $18.15. The company’s stock is down by more than half since late 2006, when it was trading close to $40 a share.

Sharon Zackfia, an analyst with investment firm William Blair & Co., said the lackluster quarter came as no surprise.

“I think an investor would have had to be living in a cave not to know that the December quarter was bad for the majority of retailers,” she said.

As part of a broad push to revitalize its business, the company said it plans to open about 425 fewer domestic stores and 75 more overseas than previously planned, for a global total of 2,150 new stores. Starbucks has more than 15,700 worldwide.

Schultz said the slowdown in U.S. growth will allow the company to make better use of its time, money and staff and could reduce “cannibalization” — easing pressure some stores experience when a new one opens nearby.

Analysts have been eager for specifics on Schultz’s turnaround plan for Starbucks, which has struggled with its rapid growth, high dairy costs, declining traffic in U.S. stores and competition from cheaper rivals.

But Schultz said the company won’t release details, including “five bold innovations,” until its annual shareholders meeting in Seattle on March 19.

Starbucks has been testing $1 extra-small cups of drip coffee with free refills in some Seattle stores, which Schultz said it’s doing to respond to the economic pressures many of its customers are facing.

Some analysts say it could draw in new customers and drive up sales if they decide to upgrade to a $4 mocha or other high-margin espresso-based drinks.

By 2009, Starbucks said, it aims to open more stores overseas than domestically for the first time — more than 1,000 stores in its international markets, where Schultz has said he sees enormous potential for growth, and fewer than 1,000 in the U.S.

The company said it expects low double-digit earnings-per-share growth this fiscal year because of the company’s efforts to improve operations and “continued macroeconomic weakness.”

That could drag earnings below the company’s previous target of $1.02 to $1.08 per share. The company earned 87 cents a share last year, and it did not release an updated target for this fiscal year.