What to Expect From Costco Earnings

Costco Wholesale is scheduled to report its fiscal third-quarter financial results after the markets close on Wednesday.

Published May 25, 2016, 1:10pm ET · 2 min read

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Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) is scheduled to report its fiscal third-quarter financial results after the markets close on Wednesday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for $1.22 in earnings per share (EPS) on $27.07 billion in revenue. In the same period of last year, the company posted EPS of $1.17 and revenue of $26.10 billion.

The company reported April same-store sales, including gasoline sales and foreign exchange effects, that were flat in the United States, up 2% in Canada and down 3% internationally. Globally, same-store sales were flat compared with April 2015. Excluding gasoline and currency exchange effects, U.S. sales rose 2%, Canadian sales rose 7% and international sales rose 1%.

On the same basis, worldwide same-stores sales in the quarter rose 3%. Net sales for the month totaled $8.98 billion, up 3% year over year. Retail Metrics had projected a same-store sales gain of 1.1% (up 4.3% excluding gasoline sales).

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A few analysts weighed in on Costco ahead of the earnings report:

  • RBC Capital reiterated its Outperform rating with a $169 price target.
  • Piper Jaffray reiterated a Buy rating.
  • Robert Baird reiterated a Buy rating.
  • Sterne Agee CRT reiterated a Buy rating too.
  • Deutsche Bank has a Buy rating with a $196 price target.
  • Morgan Stanley reiterated an Overweight rating with a $165 price target.
  • Jefferies reiterated a Hold rating with a $135 price target.

Costco has underperformed the broad markets year to date, with the stock down 11%. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is actually up 1%.

Shares of Costco were trading at $144.24 ahead of the report. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $167.91 and a 52-week trading range of $117.03 to $169.73.

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Chris Lange

Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.

His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.

When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.

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