ISSAQUAH, Wash., May 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: COST) today announced its operating results for the third quarter (twelve weeks) and the first 36 weeks of fiscal 2024, ended May 12, 2024.

Net sales for the quarter increased 9.1 percent, to $57.39 billion, from $52.60 billion last year. Net sales for the first 36 weeks increased 7.0 percent, to $171.44 billion, from $160.28 billion last year. Net sales were positively impacted by approximately 0.5 to 1.0 percent for the quarter from the shift of the fiscal calendar, as a result of the fifty-third week last year.

The following comparable sales data reflect comparable locations year-over-year and comparable retail weeks.

Comparable sales for the third quarter and first 36 weeks of fiscal 2024 were as follows:

*Excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange.

Net income for the quarter was $1.68 billion, $3.78 per diluted share. Last year’s third quarter net income was $1.30 billion, $2.93 per diluted share, which included a non-recurring charge to merchandise costs of $298 million pretax, $0.50 per diluted share, primarily for the discontinuation of our charter shipping activities. Net income for the first 36 weeks was $5.01 billion, $11.27 per diluted share, compared to $4.13 billion, $9.30 per diluted share, last year.

Costco currently operates 878 warehouses, including 605 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 108 in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 33 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 18 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, four in Spain, two in France, and one each in Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.

A conference call to discuss these results is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (PT) today, May 30, 2024, and is available via a webcast on investor.costco.com (click on “Events & Presentations”).

Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions, including exchange rates, inflation or deflation, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, breaches of security or privacy of member or business information, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, capital spending, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (generally including health-care costs and wages), energy and certain commodities, geopolitical conditions (including tariffs), the ability to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, regulatory and other impacts related to climate change, public-health related factors, and other risks identified from time to time in the Company’s public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company does not undertake to update these statements, except as required by law. Comparable sales and comparable sales excluding impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange are intended as supplemental information and are not a substitute for net sales presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

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