A Costco store in Richmond, California, US, on Thursday, May 29, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Costco on Thursday posted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped analyst estimates as the warehouse club posted double-digit gains in both membership income and its e-commerce business.
The warehouse club does not share an annual outlook with Wall Street. It will hold an earnings call at 5 p.m. ET.
Here’s how Costco did in its fiscal fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $5.87 vs $5.80 expected
- Revenue: $86.16 billion vs. $86.06 billion expected
Costco’s net income for the three-month period that rose to $2.61 billion, or $5.87 per share, compared with $2.35 billion, or $5.29 per share a year earlier. Revenue increased from $79.7 billion in the year-ago period.
Same-store sales, an industry metric that takes out one-time factors such as store openings and closures, rose 6.4% excluding the impact from changes in gas prices and foreign exchange. That result, which was reported along with Costco’s August sales numbers, marks two quarters in a row of decelerating same-store sales.
E-commerce sales increased by 13.5% compared with the year-ago period, excluding the impacts from changes in gas prices and foreign exchange.
As U.S. consumers look for value, Costco and its warehouse club competitors have opened new locations and attracted more members. Younger shoppers have signed up for the stores as the retailers offer more convenient ways to shop online, a wider variety of merchandise and cheaper meals.
In an interview this summer, Costco CFO Gary Millerchip told CNBC that the average age of the company’s members has fallen, and just under half of its new signups each year from people under 40.
As members across age groups join, Costco’s revenue, which includes net sales and membership fees, has also grown. Its full-year revenue totaled $275.24 billion, up about 8.1% year over year.
In the quarter, its membership fee total jumped about 14%, which reflects its increase in paying shoppers and its higher fee. Last fall, it raised its membership fee for the first time since 2017. Costco shoppers now pay $5 more per year or $10 more annually for its higher-tier membership when their annual fee renews.
Costco could be in a better position to weather higher tariffs than other retailers because the majority of its sales come from groceries, and its “treasure hunt” shopping experience of swapping out merchandise frequently means it can pick and choose which items it carries.
Even so, the retailer said it’s taken action to reduce tariff-related costs. On the company’s earnings call in May, CEO Ron Vachris said Costco has reduced tariff-related costs by rushing orders to the U.S. before duties took effect, rerouting some imported goods bound for the U.S. to clubs in other parts of the world and sourcing more items for its private brand in countries or regions where they are sold.
Shares of Costco have jumped by about 180% over the past five years. Yet the retailer has underperformed the market more recently, as shares are up just over 2% so far this year compared to the S&P 500’s more than 12% gains during the same time.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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