Costco Reports 13.2% Comparable Sales Increase for July, Beating Wall Street Expectations Amid Pandemic
August 05 2020 - 04:55PM
Dow Jones News
By Maria Armental
Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a better-than-expected 13.2%
comparable-sales increase in July, delivering a boost to its stock
that's been trading at record levels.
Shares, which closed at a record $339.97 on Wednesday, rose 1%
in after-hours trading.
The warehouse operator, one of the companies whose services were
deemed essential and remained open during the coronavirus pandemic,
had initially seen a surge in demand as customers stockpiled--and
cleaned out shelves.
On Wednesday, Costco reported $13.04 billion in net sales for
the four weeks ended Aug. 2, a 14% increase from the comparable
period a year earlier, while comparable sales rose 13.2%. Excluding
the impact from gasoline sales and currency swings, core comparable
sales rose 15.8%. Analysts surveyed by Consensus Metrix expected a
7.6% increase, or 10% when adjusted for gas sales and currency
swings.
Costco, which has 790 warehouses, has put in place temporary
restrictions during the pandemic, including setting aside a
shopping time for those 60 or older and giving priority access to
health-care workers and first responders like police officers, EMTs
and firefighters. It requires all shoppers and workers to wear face
coverings to help curb the spread of the virus, with the exception
of toddlers under the age of 2 or those unable to wear face
coverings for medical reasons.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 05, 2020 16:40 ET (20:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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