Why Investors May Be Cool to Costco Earnings

Retail

Published: May 28, 2015 7:25 am

Last Updated: April 28, 2020 10:19 am

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Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) reported third-quarter fiscal 2015 results after markets closed on Wednesday. The big-box club store posted quarterly diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.17 on revenue of $25.52 billion. In the same period a year ago, Costco reported EPS of $1.07 on revenue of $25.23 billion. Third-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $1.16 and $26.63 billion in revenue.

Same-store sales rose 1% in the United States during the quarter, were down by 6% in the rest of the world and down by a combined 1%, including sales of gasoline. Excluding gasoline sales and currency translation effects, U.S. same-store sales rose 5%, international sales rose 7% and combined sales rose 6%.

Membership fee revenue rose year-over-year from $561 million to $584 million, and operating income rose by $84 million, from $737 million to $821 million.

Merchandise costs rose by about 0.5% and SG&A expenses were also higher by 3.7%. Net income for the quarter totaled $516 million, up from $479 million in the third quarter of 2014.

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Because Costco’s net income is typically closely aligned with its membership fee revenue, it is vital for the company to either add new members or raise those fees. The small increase in merchandise costs for the quarter also helped boost the bottom line.

Third-quarter revenues were about $1.1 billion short of estimates, while merchandise costs rose by a relatively tiny amount and profits rose modestly. The combination could indicate that Costco’s private label brands are becoming a bigger part of the company’s overall business. Perhaps company executives will have something to say about this on the conference call later Thursday morning.

The company did not publish any guidance, but consensus estimates for the company’s fourth quarter call for EPS of $1.67 on revenues of $36.91 billion. For the full 2015 fiscal year, EPS is expected to come in at $5.24 on revenues of $118.44 billion.

Shares traded down about 0.8% in Thursday’s premarket at $144.25, after closing Wednesday at $145.42, in a 52-week range of $113.51 to $156.85. Shares are up about 26% over the past 12 months but just 2.5% so far in 2015. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $155.00 before the results were announced. The high price target is $165.00.

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