Overview
- December net sales rose 8.5% year over year to $29.86 billion, with total company comparable sales up 7% excluding gas and currency effects and U.S. comps up 6.3%.
- Costco stock gained about 5% on Thursday, recently trading near $927 following the report.
- Digitally enabled sales accelerated, with e-commerce up 18.3% on a comparable basis in December.
- Company commentary highlighted food strength led by bakery, meat and candy, solid demand in jewelry, tires and small appliances, and contributions from Australia, Japan and Korea.
- Analysts reiterated bullish views, including JPMorgan’s $1,000 Overweight rating and a Visible Alpha mean target near $1,035, while noting Executive sign-ups of roughly 80,000 per week and membership-fee growth around 5% as reported by one analyst; some investors continue to speculate about a stock split or special dividend.