Costco Wholesale (COST) has issued third-quarter financial results that beat Wall Street forecasts on the top and bottom lines, driven by continued growth in e-commerce sales.
The Seattle-based company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $4.04 U.S., which topped the $3.79 U.S. that was expected among analysts.
Revenue in the July through September quarter totaled $62.15 billion U.S., which was ahead of the $62.08 billion U.S. forecast on Wall Street. Sales were up 8% from a year earlier.
Management acknowledged that the latest results were helped by an increase in the warehouse club’s annual membership fees. The company raised its membership fees in September for the first time in seven years.
Costco’s membership fee revenue during Q3 came in at $1.17 billion U.S., which was above the $1.16 billion U.S. that Wall Street had expected.
Additionally, the company reported that its comparable sales increased 5.2% from a year ago, while customer traffic rose 5.1%.
E-commerce sales continue to be a growth engine for Costco and are rising at a brisk clip. In Q3, the company’s e-commerce revenue increased 13% from a year earlier.
Management said they completed nearly one million e-commerce deliveries in the most recent quarter, which was a record for the company.
Non-food items sold at Costco such as gold and jewelry, gift cards, home furnishings, and sporting goods also rose double digits during the third quarter.
Costco’s private label brand, Kirkland Signature, is growing faster than the total business, especially after the company lowered the price on items such as peanut butter and some wines.
Membership renewal rates at Costco stood at 90.4% worldwide at the end of Q3. The company has 77.4 million paid household members, an 8% year-over-year increase, or 138.8 million cardholders.
Costco said it opened seven new stores in the quarter and plans to open 29 during the next year, 10 of which will be outside of the U.S. The company currently has nearly 900 outlets.
The stock of Costco has risen 52% so far this year to trade at $988.39 U.S. per share.
