Yahoo Finance Costco's (COST) December Sales Reflect Stellar Holiday Season
Costco Wholesale Corporation COST has often proved its mettle. The company has weathered multiple market gyrations and delivered returns to investors. Strategic investments, a customer-centric approach, merchandise initiatives and an emphasis on memberships have been the discount retailer’s primary strengths. These have helped post consistent sales growth.
Costco witnessed stellar sales in December. This suggests that the Christmas holiday period turned out a blissful one for the warehouse retailer.
Impressive Sales Trend
Costco’s growth strategies, better price management and decent membership trends have been contributing to its upbeat performance. Amid soaring prices, low-to-middle-income consumers prefer discount stores to meet their day-to-day needs. Cumulatively, these have been aiding this Issaquah, WA-based company in registering impressive sales numbers.
Costco’s net sales increased 7% to $23.80 billion for the retail month of December, the five-week period ended Jan 1, 2023, from $22.24 billion last year. This followed an increase of 5.7% in November.
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Stellar Comparable Sales Run
Comparable sales for the retail month of December jumped 5.5%, following an increase of 4.3% in November. Comparable sales for the retail month of December reflected an improvement of 6.2%, 4.7% and 2.5% in the United States, Canada and Other International locations, respectively.
Excluding the impacts of changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange, comparable sales for the month under discussion rose 7.3% on improvements of 6.4%, 10.9% and 9.1% in the United States, Canada and Other International locations, respectively.
Bottom Line
Costco continues to be one of the dominant warehouse retailers based on the expanse and quality of merchandise offered. The company's distinctive membership business model and pricing power set it apart from traditional players. We believe a favorable product mix, steady store traffic, pricing power and strong liquidity should benefit Costco.
We note that shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have risen 3.5% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 6.9%.
3 Stocks Looking Red Hot
Here we have highlighted three better-ranked stocks, namely Build-A-Bear Workshop BBW, Capri Holdings CPRI and Ulta Beauty ULTA.
Build-A-Bear Workshop, which operates as a multi-channel retailer of plush animals and related products, sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Build-A-Bear Workshop’s current financial-year revenues and EPS suggests growth of 11.9% and 21.5%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures. Build-A-Bear Workshop has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14.7%, on average.
Capri Holdings, a global fashion luxury group, carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The expected EPS growth rate for three to five years is 11.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Capri Holdings’ current financial-year revenues and EPS suggests growth of 1% and 10.6%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures. Capri Holdings has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21%, on average.
Ulta Beauty currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The expected EPS growth rate for three to five years is 13.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ulta Beauty’s current financial-year sales suggests growth of 15.7% from the year-ago period. This beauty retailer and the premier beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skincare products, hair care products and salon services has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.2%, on average.
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Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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