Costco beats quarterly revenue estimates on robust demand

(Reuters) – Costco Wholesale Corp beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Thursday, helped by strong demand for its fresh food, candies and fuel offerings despite steeper prices and rising inflation.

Costco benefits from strong spending by well-to-do Americans with club memberships even as lower-income consumers spend lesser, hit by rising prices of everything from edible oils to gas due to the Ukraine war and supply chain disruptions.

The company’s efforts to keep gas prices several cents below the national average helped drive sales for the company.

The big-box retailer’s total revenue rose 15% to $72.10 billion in the fourth quarter, beating analysts’ average estimate of $72.04 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net income attributable to Costco rose to $1.87 billion, or $4.20 per share, in the quarter ended Aug. 28, from $1.67 billion, or $3.76 per share, a year earlier.

Shares of the warehouse club operator, fell 1.5% in extended trading as the company’s operating expenses rose for the reported-quarter due to higher labor costs and freight costs.

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)