Costco shares were down by 2% after the market’s close on Thursday night after the company released its fiscal second-quarter earnings results. The big box retailer’s earnings results appeared mostly mixed, however, most metrics beat expectations.
Revenue for the period was $55.27 billion, narrowly missing out on Wall Street estimates of $55.58 billion. Adjusted earnings per share of $3.30 beat Wall Street’s expectations of $3.21, however, as did net sales, rising 6.5% to $54.24 billion, up from $50.04 billion.
Same store sales beat Wall Street estimates at large, with all same-store sales rising by 6.8%, outperforming expectations of a 6.16% increase. U.S. same store sales grew 5.8%, versus a 5.56% estimate, while Canadian sales far exceeded an expected 5.51% rise, surging by 9.6%. Other international sales grew by 9.5%, exceeding Wall Street estimates of a 7.1% rise.
Among the product categories that saw significant sales growth in the second quarter were fresh food, food, and sundry categories. Non-food items such as apparel, jewelry, and electronics saw a drop-off.
CEO Craig Jelinek explained on a call with investors that this is a result of consumers choosing to focus their spending on essential items.