Costco Beats Fourth-Quarter Expectations as Tariff Refunds Lift Profit
publishers 11articles 14first reported 24 Sep, 22:05 UTCdeveloping since 25 Sep · 5 editions
Costco Wholesale reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, helped in part by tariff refunds and continued consumer spending.
Revenue for the 16-week quarter ended in August rose 11.1% from a year earlier to $95.72 billion, exceeding the $94.86 billion expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG, CNBC reported. Adjusted earnings per share increased 15% to $6.75 and remained above consensus even after excluding a 15-cent benefit from tariff refunds.
The company received $184 million in initial tariff refunds, according to reports from The Seattle Times and the Anchorage Daily News. The refunds followed a February Supreme Court ruling that President Donald Trump’s emergency levies were unconstitutional. CEO Ron Vachris said Costco reinvested some of the money to provide value to members, primarily through price reductions on produce, meat, beverages and some nonfood goods during the second half of the quarter, Fast Company reported. Costco expects additional refunds.
Membership fee income rose 7.3% to $1.85 billion, narrowly missing the $1.86 billion FactSet estimate. Worldwide and U.S.-Canada renewal rates improved from the previous quarter, though concerns about slowing membership growth and renewal trends persisted.
Costco shares were little changed in extended trading Thursday after closing at $896.48. The stock had fallen 18% from its May 19 closing high.
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Written from 8 articles, 1 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 18 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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