Overview
- Companywide comparable sales rose 7% and U.S. core comps increased 6.3% for the five weeks ended Jan. 4, excluding gas and currency impacts.
- E-commerce sales grew 18.3% year over year as December traffic increased 2.7% and average ticket climbed 4.2%.
- The sales update pushed Costco shares up roughly 3% to 5% during Thursday trading.
- JP Morgan reaffirmed an Overweight rating with a $1,000 price target, and other firms lifted forecasts, including Oppenheimer at $1,050.
- Shares trade around 41 times forward earnings after a pullback from above 50 times, with recurring membership fees continuing to underpin profitability.