Costco making a comeback in certain areas, posts strong Q3 results

Costco CEO Ron Vachris has barely warmed up his seat as the head of operations, but he was sitting comfortably during his first earnings call late Thursday.

Costco beat third quarter estimates as net sales were 9.1% better year over year at $57.39 billion. In the U.S., comparable sales increased 6.2% vs. Q3 2023 and ecommerce experienced a 20.7% jump.

Vachris said consumables were a big win for the retailer during the third quarter as food continued to be a solid seller.

Discretionary sales also started making a comeback as inflation cooled. Toys, tires, lawn and garden, and health and beauty aids led the way during the third quarter.

Wall Street, however, has been struggling as of late and Costco’s stock was down just over 2% during opening trading on Friday.

Net income for the quarter was $1.68 billion, which is an over $300 million bump year over year.

Membership fees pulled in $1.12 billion, which is a 7.6% increase vs. third quarter 2023.

Costco also expanded its partnership with Uber Grocery in the U.S. and in Canada.

Over a 36-week span, net sales have increased 7.0% year over year to $171.44 billion. U.S. comparable sales rose 4.1% year over year.