Costco Posts 6.8% Sales Growth in May, Slightly Slower Than April
Comparable store sales rose less than analysts had expected, according to a note from JPMorgan analysts.
The analysts said cooler than average weather in May could have slowed sales, while purchases rushed by tariffs likely peaked in March and April.Costco Wholesale (COST) after the bell Wednesday said that its sales in May grew 6.8% year-over-year to $20.97 billion, slightly slower growth than the 7% that it saw in April compared to April 2024.
The warehouse retailer's comparable store sales rose 4.1% in the U.S., 4.3% for the total company, and online sales grew 11.6% in May. The 5.5% comparable sales increase in the U.S., when excluding the impact of gas prices and foreign exchange rates, came in below the 6.4% analyst consensus, JPMorgan analysts wrote following the sales report.
The analysts wrote that Costco's sales results are in line with some other retailers that mentioned in recent earnings reports that May sales were weaker than April or March, largely due to weather—including a cooler-than-normal Memorial Day weekend in parts of the country. Costco said it doesn't typically cite weather as a factor unless there is an extreme weather event, per the analysts.
Any big purchases that consumers made ahead of schedule because of fears that tariffs would raise prices likely peaked in March and April, as executives said in last week's earnings call that they were seeing few tariff-motivated purchases at this point, according to the JPM analysts.
The analysts said Costco's comparable sales growth could be pressured in the next few months as Costco laps the popular sales of its gold bars, which frequently sold out quickly when they were available. The retailer narrowly beat estimates in its fiscal third-quarter report, as other analysts have said Costco is well-positioned to navigate the tariff environment.
Costco shares were little changed shortly ahead of markets opening, and are up nearly 15% since the start of the year but still just below record levels set in February.
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