Costco shares are falling as quarterly sales decline

By Bill Peters

Retail e-commerce sales increased 18.9% year over year

Costco Wholesale Corp. stock fell after hours after the membership warehouse retailer reported sales trends that came in worse than Wall Street estimates.

Costco (COST) reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $2.35 billion, or $5.29 per share, compared with $2.16 billion, or $4.86 per share, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue increased 1% to $78.2 billion, same-store sales increased 5.4% and e-commerce sales increased 18.9% year-over-year.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected Costco to report earnings of $5.08 per share on revenue of $79.91 billion and same-store sales growth of 5.7%.

Shares fell 0.6% in after-hours trading on Thursday. The stock ended regular trading down 0.8%.

Still, Costco shares are up 58.5% over the past 12 months as inflation-weary customers gravitate toward the chain’s discounts and bulk offers. Wall Street also waited for the company to raise membership fees, which it did earlier this month – the first such increase in seven years.

Retailers, especially those that don’t sell essential products like groceries, have had difficulty navigating a world of higher prices. Analysts say the environment favors the largest chains, which have greater e-commerce and delivery infrastructure and a greater ability to provide discounts.

-Bill Peters

This content was created by MarketWatch, operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently of Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

26/09/24 16:33ET