- Costco Wholesale (COST) experienced a drop in same-store sales in March as consumers made smaller purchases, causing the average size of transactions to decline 5.8% from February. Costco's shares were down almost 3% in premarket trading, which could be due to consumers pulling back due to economic uncertainty.
- Costco's same-store sales declined by 1.1% in March, with net sales up by only 0.5% to $21.7 billion YoY. Weak sales were attributed to declines in home furnishings, toys, seasonal products, jewelry, and ancillary sales, despite strong performances in food and sundries, tires, health and beauty, and apparel.
Why it matters
Costco’s March sales were impacted by lower gasoline prices, which the company estimates reduced same-store sales growth by about 2 percentage points. Excluding the effects of gas prices and foreign exchange, same-store sales increased by 2.6%, a slower growth rate compared to February’s 5% gain.
