Costco comps jumped in March
Costco reported a 9.4% year‑over‑year increase in total comparable sales for the five weeks ended April 5, with U.S. comps up 8.7%, Canada up 10.7%, Other International up 11.9%, and digitally enabled comps soaring 23.3% in March. (tradingview.com)
Costco kept its sales streak going in March, posting faster comparable-sales growth even with one fewer shopping day than a year earlier. (investor.costco.com) For the five weeks ended April 5, Costco said total comparable sales rose 9.4% from a year earlier, while net sales climbed 11.3% to $28.41 billion from $25.51 billion. The company released those figures on April 8. (investor.costco.com) Growth was broad across regions: United States comparable sales rose 8.7%, Canada increased 10.7%, and other international markets gained 11.9%. Digitally enabled comparable sales jumped 23.3%. (investor.costco.com) Comparable sales measure growth at stores and online operations open long enough to make year-over-year comparisons meaningful. Costco said March had one less shopping day because Easter moved on the calendar, cutting both total sales and comparable sales by about 1.5 percentage points. (investor.costco.com) Strip out swings in gasoline prices and foreign exchange, and Costco said total comparable sales still rose 6.2% in the five-week period. On that basis, United States comparable sales increased 6.2%, Canada 5.4%, other international markets 6.6%, and digital sales 22.5%. (investor.costco.com) The March report extended momentum from earlier in the year. Zacks said Costco’s total comparable sales had risen 7.9% in February and 7.1% in January, with March accelerating despite the calendar headwind. (zacks.com) Costco’s latest quarterly report showed the same pattern before March arrived. For the quarter ended February 15, net sales rose 9.1% to $68.24 billion, total comparable sales increased 7.4%, and digitally enabled comparable sales rose 22.6%. (investor.costco.com) That quarter also showed why investors track these monthly sales releases so closely. Membership fee income rose 13.6% to $1.355 billion, while renewal rates were 92.1% in the United States and Canada and 89.7% worldwide. (investor.costco.com) Costco said it now operates 928 warehouses, including 637 in the United States and Puerto Rico, and runs e-commerce sites in eight markets. The company has scheduled its April sales release for May 6 and its fiscal third-quarter earnings results for May 28. (investor.costco.com)
