Costco Sales Continue to Rise

By Sarah Nassauer

Costco Wholesale Corp. said Thursday sales rose leading into the holiday shopping season, a sign that the warehouse retail chain continues to grab market share and benefit from a strong economy.

Comparable sales, those from stores or digital operations open for at least 12 months, rose 5% during the quarter ended Nov. 24 excluding the impact of gasoline prices and currency fluctuations. Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the busiest shopping period of the year, fell a week later this year, outside of the quarter. The shift reduced sales by about a half a percentage point, the company said.

Profit rose, with net income of $844 million during the quarter, up from $767 million during the same period last year. Costco earned $1.90 a share, compared with $1.73 a share during the like quarter last year.

The retailer's e-commerce growth slowed considerably due to the later Thanksgiving, rising 5.7%. In the previous quarter, Costco's e-commerce sales rose 21.9%.

Costco reported total revenue of $37.04 billion during the quarter, up from $35.07 during the same period last year.

The company's stock fell nearly 1% to $294.63 in after-hours trading. The stock is up 46% so far this year.

A company conference call to discuss earnings was scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 12, 2019 17:19 ET (22:19 GMT)

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