Costco Sales Rise 15% in Latest Quarter
March 04 2021 - 5:19PM
Dow Jones News
By Kimberly Chin
Costco Wholesale Corp.'s sales climbed again in the latest
quarter as Americans continue to shop for food and goods for the
home during the pandemic.
The wholesale retail chain's revenue rose to $44.77 billion in
the quarter ended Feb. 14, a 15% increase from the year-earlier
period, topping analysts' projections of $43.7 billion.
Comparable sales, accounting for stores or digital channels
operating for at least 12 months, increased 12.9% during the
February quarter, excluding the impact of gasoline sales and
currency movements. The retailer's e-commerce sales rose 74.8% from
the prior year as adjusted.
Big-box retailers including Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. have
generally fared well amid the coronavirus crisis, offering
pandemic-weary shoppers one-stop shopping and in some cases, easy
buy online, pick up in store and parking lot options.
The company made a profit of $951 million, or $2.14 a share, for
the quarter, up from $931 million, or $2.10 a share, in the
comparable period last year. Analysts were targeting $2.45 a
share.
The company boosted its pay for its U.S. workers to at least $16
an hour beginning this month. Costco has long paid its store
workers more than most competitors, in part to reduce turnover as
part of its low-cost operating model. Its minimum U.S. wage has
been $15 an hour, the same as the starting wage at Amazon.com Inc.
and Target. Costco has about 180,000 full-time and part-time U.S.
employees.
For the quarter, the company reported selling, general and
administrative expenses of $4.34 billion, up 16% from a year
earlier.
Shoppers pay a membership fee for access to discounted, bulk
goods, a model that tends to attract higher-income shoppers willing
to pay a membership fee and more each shopping trip for a large
amount of goods.
Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 04, 2021 17:04 ET (22:04 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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