Exterior view of a Costco store on August 18, 2020 in Teterboro, Latest Jersey.
Kena Betancur | Corbis News | Getty Images
Costco on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings that topped Wall Street’s expectations, as shoppers turned to the membership club for cheaper gas, discounted prices of bulk items and more.
Here’s what the membership-based warehouse club reported for the three-month period that ended Sept. 3 compared with what analyst were expecting, in accordance with consensus estimates from LSEG, formerly often known as Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $4.86 vs. $4.79 expected
- Revenue: $78.9 billion vs. $77.9 billion expected
Costco’s net income for the fiscal fourth-quarter rose to $2.2 billion, or $4.86 per share, compared with $1.87 billion or $4.20 per share a yr earlier.
Comparable sales for the corporate rose 1.1% yr over yr, but only 0.2% within the U.S. Excluding changes in gas prices, the metric rose 3.8% overall and three.1% within the U.S.
E-commerce sales declined 0.8% compared with the year-ago period.
Costco is anticipated to share more details in regards to the quarter during a conference call at 5 p.m. ET. Investors will listen for updates about inflation, consumer spending patterns and membership signups on the club.
Costco has gained momentum previously three years, as membership-based warehouse clubs benefitted from dynamics corresponding to more Americans cooking from home and more millennials moving into suburban homes with larger pantries throughout the pandemic. Inflation has also driven some shoppers to enroll and renew their memberships to clubs, including Walmart-owned Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club.
Yet in recent quarters, even Costco has spoken about consumers pulling back on some big-ticket and discretionary items corresponding to jewelry, as grocery bills and housing costs remain elevated.
Within the U.S., Costco’s biggest market, sales trends have slowed. Nearly all of Costco’s clubs — nearly 600 of the corporate’s 861 warehouses — are within the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Within the year-ago fiscal fourth quarter, comparable sales rose 15.8% within the U.S. and since then have largely decelerated. Previously two quarters, comparable sales — an industry metric that takes out the effect of store openings and closures — were roughly flat within the U.S. from the prior-year periods.
Shares of Costco have climbed about 21% to this point this yr, outperforming the 11% gains of the S&P 500. The corporate’s stock closed on Tuesday at $552.96, down about 1%.