Starbucks Corp. said on Tuesday its business around the world was "steadily recovering" as most of its stores have reopened with the easing of coronavirus-led restrictions.

Shares of the Seattle-based coffee chain (SBUX) rose about 3% in extended trading after it also reported a smaller-than-expected drop in third-quarter comparable store sales as more people used its drive-thru and delivery options to buy coffee and food.

Starbucks, like many restaurants and coffee chains, took a big hit from government-imposed measures to curb the pandemic, prompting it to rely more on delivery and drive-thru services to make up for lost business.

"We firmly believe that we are well positioned to regain the positive business momentum we had before the pandemic," Chief Executive Kevin Johnson said.

About 97% of global company-operated locations are now open. This includes 96% of U.S. stores and 99% of outlets in China.

Even so, the company said it expected global comparable sales to fall 12% in its fourth quarter and end its full fiscal year 17% lower.

Ninety-day active U.S. members in the Starbucks Rewards loyalty program dropped 5% year over year to 16.3 million as customers used it less often because of temporary store closures.

Third-quarter comparable sales fell 40% globally and 41% in the Americas. Analysts had forecast a worldwide decline of 42.05% and a 42.82% drop for the Americas, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Total net revenue slumped about 38% to $4.22 billion, but still beat the average analyst estimate of $4.07 billion.

Net loss attributable to the company was $678.4 million, or 58 cents per share, in the latest quarter, compared with a profit of $1.37 billion, or $1.12 per share, a year earlier.