Costco Wholesale Corporation’s (COST Quick QuoteCOST - Free Report) growth strategies, better price management and decent membership trends have been contributing to its performance. Cumulatively, these factors have been aiding this Issaquah, WA-based company in registering decent sales numbers. Markedly, comparable sales continued to display strength in November.

Digging Into Comparable Sales

Costco’s comparable sales for the retail month of November — the four-week period ended Nov 26, 2023 — increased 3.5%. This followed an increase of 3% and 4.5% registered in October and September, respectively. Comparable sales for November reflect an improvement of 1.8%, 4.4% and 11.7% 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 4.4% on improvements of 3%, 7.9% and 8.8% in the United States, Canada and Other International locations, respectively.

We note that Costco’s comparable e-commerce sales increased 9.9% year over year. Excluding the impact of gasoline prices and foreign exchange, the metric rose 9.8% year over year.

Costco’s net sales increased 5.1% to $20.14 billion for the retail month of November from $19.17 billion last year. This followed an improvement of 4.5% and 6% witnessed in October and September, respectively.

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Growing Membership Base

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. Membership fees increased 13.7% to $1,509 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. The company ended the quarter with 71 million paid household members.

Wrapping Up

Through a calculated approach that involves identifying untapped markets and tailoring offerings to meet customer preferences, Costco has managed to deepen its roots. This retail bellwether has been steadily expanding its footprint through new club openings in the domestic and international markets. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.

We believe a favorable product mix, membership growth, pricing power and strong liquidity should benefit Costco. Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have advanced 14.9% in the past six months compared with the Retail – Discount Stores industry’s rise of 8.4%.

3 Stocks Looking Red Hot

Here, we have highlighted three better-ranked stocks, namely Target (TGT Quick QuoteTGT - Free Report) , The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC Quick QuoteKHC - Free Report) and Ollie's Bargain (OLLI Quick QuoteOLLI - Free Report) .

Target, a general merchandise retailer, currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Target’s current financial-year earnings suggests growth of 38.5% from the year-ago reported numbers. TGT has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 30.8%, on average.

Kraft Heinz, which manufactures and markets food and beverage products, currently has a Zacks Rank #2. KHC has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.9%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kraft Heinz’s current financial-year sales and earnings suggests growth of 1.1% and 6.5%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers.

Ollie's Bargain, America’s largest retailer of closeout merchandise and excess inventory, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. Ollie's Bargain has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.3%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ollie's Bargain’s current financial-year sales and earnings suggests growth of 14.3% and 68.5%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers.