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Costco’s fiscal-second-quarter sales fell short of expectations.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images
Costco Wholesale
beat earnings expectations, but the stock fell in after-hours trading as revenue came in lower than projected.
The wholesale retailer’s fiscal second-quarter sales jumped 6.5% to $54.24 billion. Factoring in an additional $1 billion in member fees, Costco’s (ticker: COST) total revenue for the quarter was $55.3 billion, lower than the consensus estimate for $55.6 billion, according to FactSet. The total is up from $51.9 billion a year ago.
Growth in same-store sales in the quarter was also weaker than expected at 5.2%, compared with analysts’ predictions for 5.5%. E-commerce sales fell 9.6%.
Second-quarter earnings per share of $3.30 topped projections for $3.21.
Costco stock is down 2.2% in after-hours trading after earnings release.
While Costco doesn’t provide financial forecasts, it is one of the few major retailers that still report monthly sales figures, which often removes an element of surprise from its earnings report.
On Thursday, Costco said adjusted February comparable sales were up 5%, while e-commerce sales tumbled by 11.2%.
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