Costco Ends Fiscal Year with Strong August Sales

Costco closed out its fiscal year with strong sales gains in August, driven by increases in food, sundries, and fresh food.

For the four weeks ending Aug. 31, sales were $21.56 billion, up 8.7% from the comparable month of the previous year. For the 16-week fourth quarter, net sales were up 8% to $84.4 billion, and full fiscal year sales were up 8.1% to $269.9 billion.

Company-wide comparable store sales were up 6.9%, excluding the impact of gasoline and foreign exchange. Comps in the U.S. were up 6.7%, up 9.4% in Canada, and up 5.3% in Other International. E-commerce comparable sales were up 18.3%.

For the full fiscal year, company-wide comparable store sales excluding gasoline and foreign exchange were up 7.6%. In the U.S., comps were up 7.3%, up 8.3% in Canada, and up 8.2% in Other International. E-commerce comparable sales were up 16.1%.

Comparable sales in food and sundries were up mid-single digits, while fresh food grew mid- to high-single digits.

Costco currently operates 914 warehouses, including 629 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 110 in Canada, 42 in Mexico, 37 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, two in France, two in Sweden, and one each in Iceland and New Zealand. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia.