Costco Wholesale Corp.'s as-reported net income and EPS for the fiscal first quarter beat analyst expectations Dec. 12 as the membership-based retailer's comparable sales came in below expectations.
Diluted EPS of $1.90 surpassed the S&P Global Market Intelligence mean consensus estimate for GAAP EPS of $1.71 for the quarter ended Nov. 24. Net income attributable to Costco of $844 million beat the Market Intelligence estimate for GAAP net income of $752 million.
Comparable sales rose 4.3%, below the Market Intelligence estimate of 4.62%. Excluding foreign exchange and fuel prices, comparable sales rose 5% during the quarter.
Net sales grew 5.6% to $36.24 billion excluding annual membership fees.
Shares of the Issaquah, Wash.-based retailer declined 0.5% to $296 in after-hours trading Dec. 12.