Costco Q4 U.S. Comparable Store Sales Strong
Fourth quarter sales at Costco Wholesale were flat year-over-year as the retailer reported sales comparable store sales gains.
For the 16 weeks ending September 1, company-wide net sales were $78.2 billion, up 1% from sales of $77.4 billion in the 17 weeks in the prior year. Net income for the 16-week fourth quarter was $2.354 billion, or $5.29 per diluted share, compared to $2.160 billion, or $4.86 per diluted share, in the 17-week fourth quarter last year.
Total company same-store sales for the fourth quarter were up 6.9%. By geographic segment, comparable store sales in the U.S. were up 6.3%, up 7.9% in Canada, and up 6.9% in Other International. E-commerce comparable sales were up 19.5%. These comparable figures exclude the impact of gasoline and foreign exchange rates.
The solid comparable store sales reported by Costco during its fourth quarter mirror the retailer’s strong year-over-year growth in store visits. Figures from Placer.ai show visits to Costco stores up 10.5% in June, up 7.6% in July, and 10.6% in August. These figures far outpace traffic growth at superstores and competing wholesale clubs, which in the same three months were up 5.4%, 1.7%, and 4.9% respectively.
For the 52-week fiscal year, Costco reported net sales of $249.6 billion, an increase of 5% from $237.7 billion reported in the 53-week fiscal year 2023. Net income for the 52-week fiscal year was $7.367 billion, or $16.56 per diluted share, compared to $6.292 billion, or $14.16 per diluted share, in the 53-week prior year.
Total company same-store sales for the full year were up 5.9%. By geographic segment, comparable store sales in the U.S. were up 5%, up 8.1% in Canada, and up 8.4% in Other International. E-commerce comparable sales were up 16.2%. These comparable figures exclude the impact of gasoline and foreign exchange rates.
