Costco earnings miss estimates as shoppers curb discretionary spending
FILE PHOTO: People form a long queue as they wait for the Costco wholesalers to open in Manchester, Britain March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Phil Noble
COST
+0.79%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position
Position added successfully to:
Please name your holdings portfolio
Type:
BUY
SELL
Date:
Amount:
Price
Point Value:
Leverage:
1:1
1:10
1:25
1:50
1:100
1:200
1:400
1:500
1:1000
Commission:
Create New Watchlist
Create
Create a new holdings portfolio
Add
Create
+ Add another position
Close
By Granth Vanaik
(Reuters) – Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) missed estimates for quarterly earnings on Thursday as shoppers pulled back on non-essential spending due to stubborn inflation and economic uncertainties.
With consumers prioritizing their spending on essential items, including packaged food and groceries, one-stop retailers such as Costco are grappling with a drop in demand for high-margin products such as home furnishings, jewelry, toys and electronics.
Shaky consumer sentiment has also impacted the results of Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) in the latest quarter, prompting them to issue disappointing forecasts.
Costco reported a quarterly profit of $2.93 per share, missing analysts’ expectations of $3.29, according to Refinitiv data.
The warehouse club operator’s total revenue for the third quarter was $53.65 billion, compared with the estimates of $54.57 billion.
“Costco’s solid value proposition and loyal customer base were not enough to capitalize on economic fears, even with their well-priced mix of name brands and in-house Kirkland labeled products,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors.
Costco’s quarterly revenue from memberships – priced between $60 and $120 per year and which account for most of Costco’s gross margin – however, rose to $1.04 billion from $984 million, a year ago.
