Costco Shares On Pace For All-Time High After 1Q Sales Hold Up

By Ben Glickman

Shares of Costco Wholesale are on pace for their fifth all-time high close in just more than a week after the company's discretionary sales ticked up in the recently completed first quarter.

The stock was up 4.4% to $658.46 in midday trading, reaching an all-time intraday high and notching its largest percent increase since January. Shares are up 44% this year.

Costco shares are on pace to reach a fifth record close since Dec. 7.

The big-box retailer on Thursday said it logged a higher profit in the period ended Nov. 26, as sales rose in line with analysts' expectations.

Same-store sales, which strip out store openings and closures, rose 3.8%, consistent with the prior quarter.

Costco's e-commerce sales rose in the quarter, bucking a trend of sliding sales. The company saw improvements in its bigger-ticket non-food items, also a reversal from previous results where Costco saw weakness in discretionary sales.

The company declined to raise its membership fee, which was highly anticipated by analysts. Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti says on a call with analysts that Costco is performing well on renewal rates, sign-ups and loyalty, so the fee increase is not needed.

The company also declared a $15 special dividend.

Write to Ben Glickman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 15, 2023 14:09 ET (19:09 GMT)

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