Overview
- Costco reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of about $70.5 billion on May 28 and earned $4.93 per share, a small miss against analyst expectations.
- The company recorded its five highest weekly fuel volumes in history late in the quarter as high national gasoline prices drove many members to Costco stations for the first time.
- Digitally enabled comparable sales climbed roughly 20%, website and app traffic rose sharply, and paid memberships reached about 82.9 million with membership fee revenue up nearly 11%.
- Gross margin narrowed from 11.25% to 11.04% due to weaker fresh-food margins and higher transportation costs, and management said any approved tariff refunds would be passed to customers rather than retained.
- Costco opened four net new warehouses (now about 928), rolled out same-day delivery in Spain and France, and said AI-driven online traffic is growing, factors that support long-term growth even as investors weigh a high forward valuation.