Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Costco Continues to Impress Investors With Stellar Comps Run

Read MoreHide Full Article

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) continues to be one of the dominant retail wholesalers based on the breadth and quality of merchandise offered. In fact, the strategy to sell products at heavily discounted prices has helped it to remain on growth track. Moreover, improving job prospects, rising disposable income and upsurge in consumer confidence have also aided this operator of membership warehouses to sustain stellar comparable sales (comps) show in 2018.

Certainly, Costco’s growth strategies, sturdy comps performance and strong membership trends reinforce its position. Comps for the month of July rose 8.3%, following an advance of 9.7% in June, 11.7% in May, 10.9% in April, 8.6% in March, 10.5% in February and 6% in January.

Comps for July reflect an increase of 9.7%, 3.2% and 6.3% at the United States, Canada and Other International locations, respectively. Excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations and gasoline prices, comps for the month under review rose 6.4%. The company recorded comps increase of 6.6%, 5% and 7.1% at the United States, Canada and Other International locations, respectively.

Notably, the company generated net sales of $10.59 billion in the month of July, up 10.1% year over year. Meanwhile, net sales have improved 11.7%, 14.1%, 13.1%, 10.9%, 12.8% and 8.4% in the months of June, May, April, March, February and January, respectively.

Costco seems somewhat unfazed by the tough retail scenario. While major chains are grappling with sluggish store and mall traffic as consumers switch to online shopping, this Issaquah, WA-based company seems rather resilient to the challenging retail backdrop.

With the wave of digital transformation hitting the sector, retailers are fast adopting the omni-channel mantra to provide a seamless shopping experience, whether online or in-stores. Costco, which shares space with Walmart (WMT - Free Report) , Target (TGT - Free Report) and Ross Stores (ROST - Free Report) , is no exception to this trend. It is also steadily expanding e-commerce capabilities in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea and Taiwan. E-commerce comparable sales advanced 20.9% in the month of July.

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>

Published in